Stronger Than Love
by OTH Lover 1223
Summary: Haley James initially hates Nathan Scott for hazing his brother, Lucas. However, after tutoring, falling in love, and marrying him, she can't imagine life without him. But when he makes a mistake that changes everything, Haley's world comes crashing down and she leaves Tree Hill to save herself the heartbreak. Can Nathan bring her back to where she belongs? Naley, Brucas, & Jeyton.
1. A Thousand Miles Away

Stronger Than Love  
OTH Lover 1223

Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill. It belongs to Mark Schwahn and the CW. I don't own any of the characters except the ones that I made up.

Summary: Haley James initially hates Nathan Scott for hazing his brother and her best friend, Lucas Scott. However, after tutoring, falling in love, and marrying him, she can't imagine life without him. But when he makes a mistake that changes everything, Haley's whole world comes crashing down and she leaves Tree Hill to save herself the heartbreak. She leaves with a big secret and it's up to Nathan to get her back to where she belongs. Will they ever be the same couple that they once were? Couples are Naley, Brucas, and Jeyton.

**AN: Here's my new story "Stronger Than Love." It's focused mainly on Nathan and Haley's relationship, but there is a lot of Brooke & Lucas and Jake & Peyton as well. Before you read the story, just know the following things: Lucas and Haley have been best friends since they were six. Peyton, Brooke, and Haley have been friends since the second grade. Nathan and Lucas hate each other since Lucas joined the basketball team during their sophomore year. Like the show, Lucas is Nathan's half brother from the Dan, Karen, and Deb love triangle (Karen is Lucas's mom and Deb is Nathan's mom). In my story, they are all about to enter their junior year in high school and the story goes on until a few months after their senior year graduation. It takes place from July 2003 to August 2005 (there will be some time jumps). Please read and review! Enjoy!**

_"Love means giving chances when there aren't anymore to give."  
-Haley James Scott_

**Chapter 1: A Thousand Miles Away**

**_July 1, 2003_**

Haley James sat in her bedroom with her two friends, Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis. The three had been friends since the second grade. Haley's best friend was Lucas Scott, whom she had met when they were six. They had been inseparable ever since. They were all in high school now, entering their junior year in September at Tree Hill High School.

"Oh my gosh, I have to buy this outfit! It's so cute!" Brooke squealed as she was looking through her new fashion magazine. Peyton and Haley looked at her and rolled their eyes.

"Tigger, that's the tenth time you said that. How many outfits do you need?" Haley asked.

"Haley, you know I need to buy new clothes for the first day of school. We're going to be juniors. I need to look good," Brooke complained.

"It's July, Tigger. School doesn't start until September. That's two months," Haley laughed.

"Still, Tutor Girl," Brooke said, using her nickname for Haley, which was chosen because Haley tutored students in her free time since she was one of the smartest students in school and always got good grades in every class.

"I need to look good for Lucas. I haven't seen him in a while," Brooke reasoned, referring to her boyfriend, Lucas Scott.

"Brooke, you just saw Lucas last week. How many times do you need to see him?" Peyton laughed from her spot on the floor. She was drawing sketches, mainly of her boyfriend, Jake Jagielski.

"Peyton, I haven't seen Lucas since last week because he's been with his mom for the past few days at the café," Brooke explained.

"Brooke, I think you can live with a week of not seeing your precious boyfriend," Peyton joked.

"Be quiet, Peyton. I need to see my boyfriend. What if you couldn't see Jake for a week, huh? Not so pleasant anymore," Brooke said. Peyton quickly fell silent.

"Okay, I guess I see your point," Peyton said.

"See. It's not so easy being away from you boyfriend. You know, Tutor Girl, we have to hook you up with someone soon. You've been single for a while now," Brooke said to Haley. Haley looked up from her phone.

"Tigger, I'm fine being single. You know it's been hard to date since my breakup with Chase. I really liked him, you know?" Haley reasoned. Haley and her boyfriend, Chase Adams, had broken up after being together for almost a year. Their split was mutual, but Haley was still torn up inside.

"Haley, that is no excuse. It's been three months. You need to get back out on the market. Besides, isn't Chase dating Taylor now?" Brooke said, referring to Haley's older sister.

"I thought he was dating Quinn? Or was it Vivian?" Peyton said, referring to Haley's two other older sisters. Haley had six siblings- Three older brothers- Matt, Eli, and Robert, and three older sisters- Vivian, Taylor, and Quinn. Haley was the baby in the family. It got kind of lonely since all her siblings were now in or out of college.

"No, it's Taylor. Quinn's dating Clay and Vivian's dating Bill, remember? I just can't believe that Chase would move on so quickly, and especially to my bitch of a sister," she said.

"I know. Taylor is a bitch. I mean what kind of person would date her baby sister's ex-boyfriend?" Brooke asked.

"That's Taylor for you," Haley sighed. "You're lucky because you have Lucas. He's so sweet," Haley grinned.

"I know," Brooke let out a dreamy sigh. "He sent me a three page poem saying how much he missed me. My Lucas is going to be the next American best-selling author."

"Well Jake is an amazing father," Peyton said, with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Jake was a teenage father. He dated Nicki during their freshman year and she got pregnant. However, after she gave birth to their daughter, Jenny, she took off, leaving Jake to care for Jenny as a single high school parent. It helped that Peyton helped him and took the mother role in Jenny's life though.

"How old is Jenny?" Haley asked.

"She's eighteen months old already," Peyton answered.

"Wow. It's been a while, huh?"

"Yeah." Peyton began sketching again, Haley started looking through her phone at pictures of her and her siblings, and Brooke flipped through her magazine once more. Their comfortable silence when a phone started ringing.

_We're going down in an earlier round. And sugar, we're going down swinging... _

"Really, Peyton? Fall Out Boy?" Brooke asked, kinking an eyebrow.

"What? They're good!" Peyton laughed, and then answered her phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey, babe."_

"Jake." She smiled. She loved Jake more than anything and she was already starting to miss him, even though they had only been apart for a couple of hours.

_"What are you doing right now?" _he asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Just hanging out with Haley and Brooke," she answered.

_"Is Brooke making you read fashion magazines?"_ he asked knowingly.

"Not this time, thank god. But she literally squeals every five seconds about a new cute outfit she sees," she chuckled.

_"That's so Brooke," _he laughed.

"Yeah, I know. Believe me- I know what Brooke's like."

_"You want to come over and hang out? Jenny's asking for you," _he explained.

"Sure." She blushed. Whenever she talked to Jake, she had butterflies flying around in her stomach and a slight dizziness. She loved Jake so much, and she hoped he loved her back just as much as she loved him.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," she told him.

_"Okay, sure. I'll see you soon, babe."_ And with that, he hung up the phone. Peyton sighed dreamily.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours, P. Sawyer?" Brooke asked, grinning knowingly.

"I have to go. Jake needs me-" Brooke interrupted Peyton, just like she always did.

"Jake _needs _you? You guys gonna get _funky?_" Brooke smirked playfully. Peyton rolled her eyes and smiled.

"That's not what I meant, B. Davis." She looked over at Haley, who opened her mouth to say something. "Don't you start too, H. James," she stopped her. Haley closed her mouth and cracked a smile.

"Text you guys later," Peyton shouted as she left Haley's room.

"You better, P. Sawyer, or I'll be mad and chase you down!" Brooke joked.

"Will do!" Peyton answered back. Soon they heard the front door close and the sound of a car engine going off. Haley and Brooke were now alone in the room.

"You miss Lucas, huh?" Haley asked, looking at Brooke's slightly sad expression. Brooke was never like this. She was usually 'cheery,' as Lucas called her.

"Yeah, I do." Brooke looked around before whispering to Haley. "You want to hear a secret? I know you want to." Haley nodded.

"I love him." Haley widened her eyes at the revelation. "I'm in love with Lucas Scott… and I think I always have been and always will be," Brooke revealed.

Haley sat there, shocked. She always knew that Brooke and Lucas cared deeply for one another, but what she didn't know was that Brooke loved Lucas. Brooke wasn't the girl to fall in love. She had been the one to sleep around before she dated Lucas. She had been the fragile girl who hid her brokenness by sleeping around. Brooke was the girl who stayed strong for herself and the people around her, but was actually lonely inside from the fact that she was abandoned by her parents. She was the girl who used to keep her guard up around her heart in fear of letting someone in and getting her heart broken. Haley hoped Lucas felt the same way about her, because from the looks of it, Brooke was finally opening up her heart, and Haley didn't want Lucas to ruin that.

"That's great, Brooke. I'm happy for you," Haley finally said.

"I know. It's just, I've never felt this way before…and I'm scared that he'll one day hurt me… but I can't control the way I feel about him, you know?" Haley nodded. "I love him, and I probably always will."

Haley sighed. She was happy for Brooke- she was. It was just that her four closest friends- Lucas, Brooke, Jake, and Peyton- were all in happy, committed relationships, and she wasn't. She never loved Chase, but she still cared about him and the break up hurt. It seemed like all of her relationships ended to quickly- that she would never find her true love, her soulmate. Haley wished that she would one day find her Prince Charming who would sweep her off her feet, but unfortunately, Haley didn't believe in fairytales.

* * *

**_July 2, 2003_**

Haley was lying on her bed, her face in her pillow the next morning. It was Saturday, and she had absolutely nothing to do. Brooke and Lucas went to see a basketball game in Charlotte (they had invited her along, but she had politely declined- she didn't want to be a third wheel). Jake and Peyton had gone to Jake's family's beach house to spend the weekend with his parents. And now Haley had nobody to spend her Saturday with.

The doorbell rang. Haley furrowed her eyebrows. Who would be here? Peyton and Jake were already at the beach house, and Brooke and Lucas had left half an hour ago. _Brooke probably forgot her makeup bag,' _Haley thought to herself. She ran downstairs and opened the door. There, she came face to face with the person she would least expect standing at her door.

Nathan Scott.

Haley knew who Nathan Scott was very well. Lucas Scott's half brother. The social king of Tree Hill High, from what she had heard. The arrogant, selfish ass who slept around with random girls. The heartbreaker of Tree Hill. She had never met him, but it was what she assumed. She knew it wasn't right to judge him if she had never met him, but she had heard rumors and listened to them instead of what her mind was telling her. Besides, Lucas said he was a spoiled jerk who got everything he wanted from his father, Dan Scott. She knew Dan's story as well. Lucas had told her when they were ten.

Dan Scott was the most popular student at Tree Hill High back in his days. He and his brother, Keith, both had a crush on the most beautiful girl in school: cheerleader and top student, Karen Roe. Like always, Dan got the girl and Keith was left behind. Karen and Dan fell in love during their young high schools years. Dan began to change- he wasn't the jerk he was before he met Karen. Karen had changed him. But she got pregnant and he quickly morphed back to the person that he used to be. He left her behind, while she was pregnant, to follow his college dreams instead. Karen had Lucas, and was helped out by Keith, who still had strong feelings for her, but never admitted it. Keith helped raise Lucas while Dan ran off to college to find another girl. Deb Lee. A beautiful, blonde woman who got pregnant with Dan's child as well. Nathan was born then. And unfortunately, instead of taking Deb's sweet, caring personality, Nathan took Dan's attitude. She didn't know what that attitude was- selfish like Dan or ambitious like Dan? Haley never wanted to know Nathan Scott and she hoped she never would. Yet, here, right now, he stood in front of her, his piercing blue eyes practically burning holes in her body. One of her hands rested on her hip while the other was on the door.

"Hi," he greeted.

"What do you want?" she asked, a bit harsher than she had intended. He raised an eyebrow at her attitude, but continued.

"You're Haley James, right?" he asked.

"Yes. Now I will repeat my question. What do you want?" she ran her hand through her honey blonde hair and then crossed her arms across her chest.

"I, uh, I need a tutor…and I hear you're the best," he answered. She looked at him incredulously.

"You want me to tutor you?"

"Yeah, I do," he said. She stood there, contemplating what she would do. Should she tutor him? Why would she? He was an ass. He didn't care about anything but a stupid basketball game. He hurt and humiliated Lucas since sophomore year when Lucas joined the Ravens. And here he was, asking Lucas's best friend to tutor him and help him out? Who did he think he was? She wasn't stupid- she knew what he was doing and she didn't like it.

"Well?" he asked after a minute of silence.

"Well what?" she asked, playing dumb.

"Will you tutor me?"

"No." He raised both eyebrows.

"What? Why not?"

"I know who you are. Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, scoring your touchdowns-"

"I don't even play football," he interrupted her, smirking. She shook her head.

"Whatever. The point is, I know who you are and I won't tutor you. In case you didn't know, I'm best friends with Lucas," she informed him. He chuckled.

"Well then, I'm sorry for you." She rolled her eyes.

"Ha, ha, you think you're so funny," she said sarcastically. He sighed.

"Look, this isn't a joke. I really need help. I'm basically failing and if I don't get my grades up, I'm gonna get kicked off the basketball team. My dad won't like that. Me and my dad don't get along," he said.

"My dad and I," Haley corrected him.

"What?" Nathan asked, confused.

"You said 'me and my dad don't get along.' It's 'my dad and I don't get along.' You and your dad are the subject, thus making it 'I' instead of 'me.' 'Me' is only if you're using it for the direct or indirect object-"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he interrupted her again.

"I want you to leave, Nathan. Now," she demanded.

"Whoa, hey. There's no need to be so pushy," he said.

"I want you to leave. I am not tutoring you. Get that into your thick skull. You're an ass and I sure as hell won't tutor someone like you."

"Someone like me or me?" he asked. She rolled her eyes again.

"You know the answer." With that, she slammed the door right on him. She could hear him swear underneath his breath before leaving the porch. She sighed heavily and slid down the front door. An average Saturday morning just turned into one hell of a roller coaster and she didn't want to be riding it.

* * *

**_July 3, 2003_**

"What's on your mine, Tutor Girl?" Brooke asked Sunday evening. They were in Brooke's room this time. Brooke had gotten back from her trip with Lucas an hour ago and invited Haley to spend the night at her house. Haley's parents were visiting her brother, Matt, his wife, and his kids. Brooke didn't want her friend to spend the night alone, so she invited her over.

"Nothing... I just, I'm thinking about things."

"What are you thinking about?" Brooke asked.

"Just stuff," Haley responded.

"What kind of _stuff _are we talking about here? Are we talking about _boy stuff_?" Brooke asked, kinking an eyebrow. "Oh, I bet it's about a cute boy. Tell me- where'd you meet him? What's he like? Is he hot?" Brooke squealed.

"Well, I met him at my house. He's a total son a bitch- you know, a selfish ass. And he's just playing with me," Haley said, talking about Nathan. Brooke raised an eyebrow.

"Who are we talking about here?"

"Do you know who Nathan-"

"The Nathan Scott? Tree Hill's King?" Brooke interrupted her. Haley nodded.

"You talked to Nathan Scott? Why? How do you know he's an ass?" Brooke said.

Haley shrugged. "I've heard things."

"You know you can't listen to everything people say. You don't know he's an ass."

"He's been bothering Lucas for the past year. He came to my house yesterday asking me to tutor him. I know he's just messing with me to annoy Lucas."

"How do you know?" Brooke asked. Sure, she was worried about Lucas and Haley getting hurt by Nathan, but Nathan had to have a good reason to ask Haley for tutoring.

"Tigger, he's been hazing Lucas since sophomore year. What else would he want?" Haley asked. Brooke shrugged.

"I don't know. I know you might think he's an ass and a jerk and a heartbreaker, but what if he just needs to be tutored? What if he just wants his grades to go up so he can stay on the basketball team?" Brooke suggested.

"Yeah, but still. Lucas would freak out if I tutored Nathan," Haley pointed out.

"I know Lucas. Sure, he'd be upset. But he'd understand that it's _just_ tutoring, you know?"

"He hasn't done anything but hurt Lucas. Why should I reach out and help him?" Haley said.

"Because you're Haley James," Brooke smiled. "You're a good person and I remember you once said that you'd help out anyone in need, no matter what the circumstances were. That's just who you are Haley. You're a good person, and I think you should consider tutoring Nathan, even if he might be a jerk."

"But-"

"Just think about it, Hales," Brooke said, and then got up to grab a snack from downstairs, leaving Haley to think about the whole situation.

* * *

**_July 4, 2003_**

The next night, Haley walked up to Nathan's door and quickly knocked on it. She took a step back and waited for him to open the door. She ran her hand through her long, honey blonde locks **(AN: She has a season 3 look. So does the rest of the cast).** Finally, Nathan opened the door.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hey. I thought about it...and if you really want to learn, I can help you," she told him.

He smiled. "That's great. Alright."

"I just, I have two conditions before we start," she informed him.

"_Conditions_?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow. He put a hand on the back of his neck.

"Yes. One- Lucas doesn't find about this. I mean, ever," she told him.

He shrugged. That wasn't so hard. "Okay."

"And number two...you leave him alone." Okay, so that was a little bit harder.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" he asked her, sighing. She shook her head. He cracked a smile and looked at her. She really was beautiful. He could stare into her doe brown eyes forever and he fought the urge to walk up to her and kiss her. She was different than most girls- she was independent, fierce...beautiful. The girls he slept with were hot...she was independently beautiful. And he liked it.

"Okay, so tomorrow at the docks?" she asked.

"Okay," he smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow...Haley." She looked at him once more before giving him a small smile and leaving his porch. He looked at her once more before closing his door.

* * *

**_July 5, 2003_**

"Breakfast of champions. You want some?" Nathan asked Haley, who was sitting on the bench. It was 7:02 AM on a foggy summer Monday morning on July 5, 2003. Haley looked up at him and sighed. She had her hair down in her natural blonde curls and she was wearing a black and white off-the-shoulder shirt with black jeans. He was wearing a gray t-shirt, his raven's varsity jacket, and denim jeans.

"You're late."

"Oh, please let this be a cheat sheet," he prayed. Instead, he found a colorful plastic bracelet. "It's for you." Haley looked up at him again.

"Stop it." Nathan chuckled.

"C'mon." Haley reluctantly put out her hand and Nathan slipped the bracelet on her wrist. Nathan smiled.

"Don't say I never gave you anything." Haley held up a math textbook.

"Do you see this book? This is me. I am math," she told him. Nathan was confused. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's supposed to mean that you can work you're, 'I'm Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, scoring my touchdowns on somebody else-'"

"I don't even play football. I already told you that," he interrupted her.

"Whatever. The point is, at the end of the day, all your bluster and BS don't mean anything to math because math don't care and neither do I," she said.

"Well does English care? Because I really suck at that too," Nathan chuckled.

"Please don't waste my time. I'm already talking a big chance on you because my instinct is screaming that you're foolish," she sighed.

_"_Okay," he smiled.

"Let's get started, okay? Page 81. The sum an integer N and its reciprocal is equal to 78/15. What is the value of N?" she asked him, not looking up from the book. He shrugged.

"I don't know. See, I told you. I suck at math. I'm never gonna get this," he sighed, running his hands through his raven colored hair.

"C'mon Nathan. You'll get this. You just have to try," she encouraged him.

Twenty minutes later, after explaining the question about five times and going over ways to solve the problem, Nathan finally got the answer.

"Is it... 'n = 5?" he asked her, looking up from his piece of paper. Haley smiled.

"Yeah. Good job, Nathan. See, I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, well, thanks to you. Without you, I'm a bum at math. I'm never gonna pass my tests when schools starts," he sighed again. Haley was surprised. She never thought the day would come when Nathan Scott was not confident and not a son of a bitch. It seemed as if the whole bad boy act was just a defense mechanism and he was finally letting his guard down.

"Well, we've got two months, right?" she said. He cracked a smile and nodded.

"Yeah. We do."

* * *

"What's on your mind, man?" Tim asked Nathan. They were hanging out at Nathan's place playing NBA live on his TV.

"Do you know Haley James?" he asked him.

"Friends with Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, right?" Tim said.

"Yeah."

"And she's best friends with Lucas, right?"

Again, Nathan nodded, but this time, slower.

"Why are you asking, _dawg_?" Tim asked curiously.

"You're white, Dim," Nathan told him, laughing.

"Whatever." He paused the game and looked over at Nathan who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. "Seriously man. What's going on?"

"It's just... I think I like her," he revealed. Tim smirked and slapped his back.

"Great. You gonna sleep with her?" Nathan looked over at him.

"What?"

"I said, 'you gonna sleep with her?' You should, man. Look at her ass-"

"Shut up, Tim," Nathan muttered.

"I'm serious. I mean, just look at it-"

"I said shut up!" Nathan yelled. Tim held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. I was just playing. What's up. You love it when we talk about girls and sex," Tim said.

"It's just. Haley's different. She's not like other girls. She gives me a challenge and I like that. I wanna try with her, but I don't know if she'd ever give me the chance," Nathan sighed.

"So you wanna date a girl? Actually date one? Not sleep with one?" Tim asked. "What has gotten into you, Nate?"

"Not everything is about sleeping with girls, Tim."

"See, this is what I'm talking about. You used to love sleeping with girls. It was your thing. You're the King of Tree Hill. You can't be acting like this," Tim said.

"I told you. Haley's different. She doesn't throw herself at me like every single other girl in Tree Hill. She's independent and strong. I want her, but not for all the reasons you're thinking of."

"This has nothing to do with messing with Lucas?" Tim asked suspiciously.

"No. Haley asked me to back off of Lucas, so I backed off. I still don't like Lucas, but I'm not gonna try and get Haley to date me for revenge or something," Nathan explained.

"Man, I don't know about this-"

"It's my life, Tim. I was just telling you how I feel about Haley. I like a girl, I mean really like one for all the right reasons, and I'm ready to try to be the guy that Haley would want to date."

Tim shrugged. "Fine man. I, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you've changed, man. Where's the Nathan I knew?"

"He's gone. His guard is finally down, and if you want to be my friend, you're gonna have to accept that. I wanna change. Haley made me want to do that." Nathan pressed play for NBA live and the two began playing again. It made Nathan think of the old times, but he knew his mind was nowhere near what it used to be.

* * *

_Four days later..._

**_July 9, 2003_**

Nathan and Haley had been meeting up every day for the past week. They would meet up at the docks every morning at exactly seven in the morning and she would tutor him for about two hours. Nathan had complained that it was way to long to study for two hours, so Haley allowed him to have breaks every now and then. During those breaks, he took the time to really get to know his half brother's best friend. She really was perfect. She was sweet, independent, beautiful, talented, smart, and kind.

Haley began to notice a change in Nathan. He no longer was late- he was actually always a couple minutes early to each session. He wouldn't make snide comments or act all mighty like people had described him. She was wrong about him- there was a vulnerable, sweet boy inside of his hard exterior.

"Morning, Hales," Nathan greeted her like every morning. He put down the two cups of coffee and a tray of donuts.

"Breakfast, huh?" Haley asked, looking at the food.

He shrugged. "Don't say I never gave you anything," he smirked. She laughed and took a sip of the coffee.

"Let's get started on English..."

Forty-five minutes later, Haley had successfully gone through two of Shakespeare's works with Nathan. He initially had trouble with understanding the deeper meaning, but once she explained it to him, he finally got it.

"Can we take a break now?" Nathan asked. Haley sighed and closed the book.

"Okay, sure. You gonna actually do something fun today on your precious break?" Haley teased him. Nathan had never done anything fun on his break- he just sat there and talked to her. She enjoyed her talks with him- getting to know the real him- but she wondered why he never did anything else.

"I enjoy talking to you, Hales." Haley smiled at the nickname. He had begun calling her that after their third session and she allowed him. They sat there in a comfortable silence.

"Can I ask you something?" Haley asked after they sat there for a minute saying nothing.

"Shoot."

"Why do you bother Lucas? I mean, what's the point of it?" she asked curiously. Now that she was getting to know Nathan and realize that he wasn't a jerk, she wanted to know the real reason as to why he liked annoying Lucas.

Nathan ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "It's just, believe it or not, I've always been jealous of Lucas." Haley raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"I know. Surprising, huh?" Haley nodded. "Yeah, well, even though Lucas is technically 'fatherless', he has Keith, who is a much better man than my dad will ever be. Sure, my dad has money, but Lucas has a real family. I always wanted something like that. You know- a family."

"So why do you bother Lucas?" Haley asked again.

"I knew that if he joined the Ravens, he would have a chance at being better than me. Basketball is the only thing I have going for be, you know? The only thing I can depend on for college and for my future. I don't know. If Lucas is better than me, he'll get the scouts and he'll get a scholarship. I can't let that happen, so I figured if I got him to quit, I would have basketball to depend on again," he explained.

"I understand, Nathan, but hazing Lucas? Really?"

"I'm not proud of that, Haley. I just let my competitiveness take over. I'm sorry if I ever really hurt Lucas. I just didn't want to be in the situation where there is absolutely nothing going for me," he said.

"I get it, Nathan. I do. I just wish you never started," Haley said.

"I stopped. I won't be that guy again," he promised.

"Okay. I... I trust you."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence again. Nathan was the first to break the ice this time.

"You have a boyfriend?" Nathan asked. Haley shook her head.

"Nah. We broke up three months ago."

"Who?"

"Chase Adams. He's gonna be a senior at Tree Hill in September. Brooke told me not to date an older guy and I didn't listen. Well now it's come back to bite me in the ass," Haley sighed.

"Why'd you break up?" He looked at Haley before speaking again. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry..."

"No, it's fine. We, uh, it was mutual. Things... just weren't working out, you know? We cared about each other, but I think we were meant to be friends than lovers."

"Yeah, I get it. I mean, I've never seriously dated a girl, but you know, I know what it means to be hurt. I get hurt by my dad a lot," he revealed.

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"It's just that..." he sighed and put a hand on his head. "Ever since I was a kid, my father's been pushing me to play basketball. And I was fine with it, because I did take an early interest in basketball. But when I got older, it was like I was living his dream. He would pressure me into doing this, constantly telling that I wasn't good enough- that I would never be as good as him. He expects me to be something that I'm not, you know. His dream is for me to go to Duke, go to the NBA, and then marry some hot chick with money. Sure, I'm interested in Duke. And sure I want to one day make it to the NBA because I have dreams too. But he will not plan my future for me, you know? I don't want to marry some blonde bimbo or whatever. The old me would settle with that. But I want to fall in love. Have a family. Share my dreams with the perfect woman." Haley was shocked after he finished. She never expected for the Nathan Scott to want a family. She was completely wrong about him. She had misjudged him and now she felt bad. The guy who slept with every girl was the old Nathan. This was the new Nathan. And she liked it.

"You want to marry the perfect woman, huh?" she asked. He nodded.

"Like who?" she asked. He looked into his doe brown eyes. He realized what he wanted. What he wanted, or who she wanted, was her. She was everything he wanted. She was the one who made him change. He had fallen in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her. Suddenly, he wasn't that ass who broke girls' hearts. He was the vulnerable boy who had dreams. He was the boy who wanted love. But he wasn't a boy. He was a man. And he was a man who wanted to treat a beautiful woman like her right.

"You." Haley widened her eyes. What?

"Nathan-"

Before she could say anymore, Nathan leaned in and kissed her tenderly. She didn't move- she was too much in shock. She, Haley Bob James, was kissing the Nathan Scott. Mr. Popularity. The boy who was the first one to let her in. He broke the kiss and looked into her deep brown eyes.

"Say something, Haley," he pleaded. Before he could say anything else, she grabbed her bag and took off, running away from the docks.

"Haley!" he called. "Haley!" he tried again. He sat down on the bench again and put his head in his hands.

What had he done? He messed up the start of a new friendship with Haley just because of his stupid feelings. Stupid damn feelings for the most perfect girl in the world. Why was he feeling this way? He couldn't help who he loved. He couldn't help that Haley was perfect and beautiful. He was falling in love with Haley James and she didn't even know how much he cared about her. And unfortunately, now, maybe she never would…


	2. Love Our Love

_"Every song has a coda, a final movement, whether it fades out of crashes away. Every song ends, is that any reason not to enjoy the music?"  
-Peyton Sawyer_

**Chapter 2: Love Our Love**

**_July 10, 2003_**

Nathan lay in bed the next morning. He glanced over at the clock. It was 7:23. He and Haley would be having their tutoring session. But after she ran out when he kissed her, he figured she'd blow off the session. He didn't make a mistake by kissing her- he knew that. Kissing Haley would never be a mistake. He just regretted doing it so early on in their growing friendship.

Nathan heard his phone ringing from his desk, so he threw off his blankets, got up from his bed, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

_"Hey man," _the voice said at the other end.

"Tim? What do you want?" he asked annoyed. He was forced to get out of bed for Tim?

_"I just wanted to know how it went with that hot-ass Haley chick,"_ Tim smirked.

"I swear, Tim, if you were here, I would kick your scrawny ass for saying something like that," Nathan swore through his gritted teeth.

Tim sighed. _"Why can't we joke around anymore, man? I want it to be like the old times when we partied with bar sluts and-"_

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Nathan demanded, angered by Tim's childish attitude. When would Tim realize that life wasn't about parties and sex and girls? Why wouldn't Tim just grow up? Nathan grew up as soon as he met the beautiful, mature, independent Haley James who completely changed his world forever.

_"See what I mean? I want my old buddy back,"_ Tim complained.

"Then don't look here, Dim," Nathan said, then hung up the phone. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the time. It was 7:27 AM. It would've been twenty-seven minutes into their session. He missed her. They weren't even together, but he missed her so much. His thoughts were interrupted when Deb opened his door and popped her head in.

"You okay, honey? I heard you shouting at someone from downstairs," Deb asked her son.

"I'm fine, mom. It's just, uh, Tim's being an airhead, you know?" he chuckled. Deb laughed back and walked further into the room.

"Can I ask you something, mom?" Nathan asked. He had no choice. He needed advice and he figured the only way was to ask his mother, who probably knew much more than he did about girls. He usually didn't talk to his mom about things like this, but Haley James was different- a good kind of different- and he needed to know what was right and wrong.

"Of course," she smiled. Her son was so closed up with her. He was an average All-American teenager. He got that from Dan. And she never pried into his life because she knew him and he would just grow even further away from her.

"So, uh, it's just that, there's this girl and-"

"A girl?" Deb interrupted. "What's she like?"

Nathan had to smile. "She's beautiful. She's brilliant, fierce, independent, a true fighter, brave, and… a friend," he described Haley. "She's perfect, mom. Absolutely amazing."

"She sounds great, Nathan. But what's the problem?" Deb asked, confused. It sounded like Nathan really liked this mystery girl, but she couldn't see the problem just yet.

"She doesn't feel the same way about me. She thinks I'm a selfish jerk who gets everything I want. I'm not like that mom, I, I've changed, I, I don't want to be that guy anymore," he explained.

Deb smiled. Her son was finally leaving Dan's path and starting his own. She was afraid that he would follow in his father's footsteps- get a girl pregnant who he didn't even know very well, marry her for the sake of the baby, become a selfish ass, and never care about anything but himself. She wanted to meet this girl who changed her son's entire world.

"You never know if you don't try," Deb told Nathan.

Nathan sighed. "That's just it. I have tried with her."

"What do you mean?"

"I kissed her yesterday," Nathan admitted.

"And?"

"She ran out," Nathan sighed, putting his head in his hands.

"She ran out?"

"Yeah. I kissed her, she didn't kiss back, and then she left the docks, faster than I've ever seen her run. I scared her, mom. I did it too soon, but we were just sitting there, and I couldn't help how I felt for her," Nathan explained. Deb nodded.

"Have you talked to her since the kiss?"

"No. I just figured I'd give her some space," Nathan said.

"I think you should talk to her, Nate. Let her know that you aren't that guy anymore and that you're willing to face the problems you too are having right now," Deb suggested.

"You think I should talk to her?"

Deb nodded. "Yeah, I do. Just think about it, and uh, tell me how it goes," Deb said, getting up.

"I'm proud of who you're becoming, Nathan," she said, hugging her son for the first time in what felt like years. "I love you so much," she said.

"I love you too, mom," he told her back.

Deb left the room and Nathan sat on his bed, sighing. Thoughts ran through his head. Should he talk to Haley? Would it make things even more weird and awkward? Could it ruin everything they built up over the last couple of days? Or would it be a new start for them? Could he actually get a chance with a beautiful girl like her? He didn't deserve her, but he hoped that he would one day be at least half as great as the person she was.

After contemplating the situation for twenty minutes, Nathan finally made a decision and got up. He grabbed his phone and car keys from his desk and ran down stairs to see his mom emerge from the living room.

"You going to talk to her?" Deb asked.

"Yeah. I'm going to make things right," Nathan said.

"You never told me her name," Deb told him. Nathan smiled.

"Haley James. And one day, I hope she'll be Haley James Scott."

* * *

His hands shaking, his heart beating rapidly, and his stomach churning, Nathan walked up to the porch of Haley's house. He thought about climbing through her window at first, but he figured he'd probably scare the hell out of her and then her father would catch him, which would definitely not make a good first impression. Behind his back, he held a single white rose, which he had bought from the flower shop on the way to her house. He could remember her telling him once that she hated red roses, but loved white ones. It was funny how he could remember such little, unimportant things about her. But they were important to him because each little thing built up to a beautiful woman. One who he cared about so much.

Nervously, Nathan rang the doorbell and then took a step back. He waited for a few seconds before the door was opened, revealing a man who looked to be in his mid-forties. It must've been Haley's father.

"May I help you?" the man asked, confused.

"Yes, sir. Can I, uh, can I talk to your daughter?" he asked nervously.

The man furrowed his eyebrows. "Which one? Taylor, right?"

Nathan slightly chuckled. Never would he come to ask for Taylor. Haley told him all about the "wild child" of the family.

"No, actually, I want to talk to Haley," Nathan responded.

"Haley? She hasn't had anyone over since her breakup with uh, what's his name? Bryan? Brase? Chris? Hold on a second. Lydia!" the man called out.

"Yes?" a woman's voice called back. Suddenly, a woman, who looked around the same age as the man, came out of the kitchen holding a dishrag and a glass plate.

"What's the name of Haley's ex-boyfriend?"

"I'm pretty sure it's Chase Adams or something like that," Lydia thought.

"Yes, ma'am, that's the name," Nathan interrupted her thoughts. Lydia looked at him and smiled. She shook Nathan's hand.

"Lydia James. This is my husband, Jimmy. I assume you're here for Taylor?" she asked.

"He's here for Haley, Lydia," Jimmy explained to his wife. "What's your name, son?"

"Nathan. Nathan Scott." Jimmy raised both eyebrows.

"Any relation to Haley's best friend, Lucas Scott?"

Nathan nodded. "Yes, sir, I'm his… _half_-brother."

"Half-brother, huh?" Jimmy said. Nathan nodded. "I didn't know Lucas had a half-brother. He never mentioned you."

"Well, we don't really get along very well, sir," Nathan explained.

"Why not?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you get along with Lucas? He's such a nice boy, always protecting Haley in every way he can. He's so sweet. How can you not like him?" Jimmy asked him.

"In all respect sir, it's not just me. We share a mutual hatred to each other," Nathan defended himself. He just wanted to talk to Haley and now he was being bombarded by questions by her parents. He just needed to see Haley. Was that so hard?

"Ah, so you both hate each other?" Jimmy said. Nathan just nodded. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"So you're looking for Haley?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Jimmy!" Lydia scolded. "Haley-Bob doesn't need you snooping into her personal life."

"I just want to know this boy's intentions with our daughter. Since we're too 'childish' to take care of her, as she said," Jimmy laughed.

"I just want to talk, sir," Nathan said, stuffing one of his hands in his pockets. Jimmy eyed him.

"Really? And there will not be any…screwing around?" Jimmy asked seriously. Nathan's mouth dropped to the ground. Did he really just say that?

"Uh…sir, I-"

Jimmy and Lydia laughed loudly, and they had to clutch their stomachs because they were laughing too hard. Nathan just stood there, confused. Why were they laughing about the idea of him sleeping with their daughter? He didn't understand these two.

"I'm just messing with you, son," Jimmy laughed, slapping Nathan's back. Nathan let out a sigh in relief and chuckled. "I know you wouldn't do that."

"I wouldn't, sir," Nathan assured him.

"Haley's in her room. Go up the stairs and go down the hallway. Third door to the left," Jimmy told him, still laughing. Nathan nodded, thanked Jimmy and Lydia, and then quietly walked up the wooden stairs.

Finding her door, Nathan looked to see that it was slightly open. He peered inside to see Haley sleeping in her bed with tissues scattered around on her blankets and a tissue box laying sideways on the ground. Nathan blinked and he felt his stomach drop. He made Haley cry. He was the cause for her tears. He felt awful that his damn feelings made a beautiful girl cry. He slowly opened the door and walked into the room silently. Picking up the tissues from the bed, he threw all of them in the trash. He then sat on her chair near her desk and watched her sleep. She was beautiful, even with her eyes red and face stained with tears. Nothing could ever change her beauty. Nothing at all.

* * *

Haley woke up to the sound of some shuffling in her room. Thinking it was her mom, she put her head under her pillow.

"Mom, can you leave? I told you, I'm fine," she muttered tiredly.

"You don't look fine to me," a deep, familiar voice said to her. Startled, she threw the pillow off her head to face the figure sitting on her chair.

"Nathan?" she asked, surprised.

"Hey."

"What, what are you doing here?" she asked him. Why on Earth was he here in her room? Did her parents know about this? She knew that they would freak out if they saw him in her room.

"Can we talk?" he asked hoarsely.

Haley shrugged. "We don't have anything to talk about."

"Yes, we do, Haley. We have _a lot _to talk about. What about the kiss?" he recalled.

She shrugged again. "It was a mistake, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't a mistake, Haley" Nathan argued.

"Yes, it was. Look, these past few days have been great- I really was starting to build a solid friendship with you, despite what Lucas might think if he found out about this. But a kiss, Nathan? That's not part of a friendship and you know that-"

"Yes, I know that. But I also know that you kiss someone to show how deeply you care about them. And I care about you, Haley. A lot," Nathan admitted.

"Nathan-"

"You may think it was a mistake, but I don't regret it. Not one part of it. You, you have, changed my whole world, Haley. My life was all sex and girls and basketball before you came along. But then I met you and I finally found what I needed to do in life besides play basketball. I needed to be the man that would always protect you and love you. I want to be with you, Haley," Nathan finished.

"It's not that easy," Haley said.

"I know it's not. But all I want is to be with you, and we could figure out the rest along the way."

"Nathan, do you understand what you're saying? Do you know who I'm friends with? Your brother. The one you've hazed for so long. The one that you share a hatred with. He wouldn't accept us. I cannot risk my friendship with him over a boy," she said.

"I'm not just a boy, Haley. I care about you so much, I-"

"Are you just doing this to upset Lucas later on?" she interrupted him. He looked at her incredulously.

"Of course not. I took a liking in you by myself. Look, if you don't like me that way, then I guess that's it…" he trailed off. "But I won't stop fighting for what you and I could have."

"Nathan-"

"Tell me you didn't feel anything when I kissed you. Tell me that you don't feel the same way that I do," he demanded. "Look right into my eyes and tell me you would rather die than be with me." She looked down.

"I can't do that, Nathan," she mumbled.

"So you like me?" he cracked a small smile.

"I told you, Nathan. I care about you, I do. But what we have or what we could have is not simple at all. It could ruin everything between me and Lucas."

"If he was really your best friend, Haley, then he would trust you to do the right thing. He would accept you no matter who you date. Be with me, Haley. Just be with me and I'll do everything I can to make you happy. I just, I've never felt like this, but right now, the only thing on my mind is you. I just, please, I-"

Haley crashed her lips onto his. He instantly kissed back and wrapped one arm around her waist and he brought his other hand to her face. She ran her fingers through his dark hair as he caressed her face. After a few moments, she pulled back and looked into his blue eyes that she couldn't resist.

"You're right. If Lucas was really my best friend, he would accept us. I guess I've just been trying to deny the feelings that I had for you all this time. But, I'm willing to give us a shot, because you make me feel happy and brave and special and the only girl in the world," she smiled. "I just, I'm scared to be with someone again, after what happened with Chase."

"I'm not Chase, Haley," Nathan assured her. "I'm nothing like him. I would never leave you. And I would most definitely never date any of your sisters… for many reasons," he joked.

"Well, Vivian is married and Quinn is dating someone, so I don't think you'd have a chance with them anyways. And I don't think you'd want to date Taylor," Haley laughed.

"Definitely not," Nathan chuckled. They sat there in a comfortable silence.

"So we going to do this?" Nathan asked, breaking the silence.

"Do what?"

"Is there going to be in us?" Nathan asked her.

"Definitely."

* * *

**_July 11, 2003_**

"Are you sure she's gonna like me?" Haley asked nervously. She and Nathan were sitting in his car driving to his house. After he spent the night at her place, he decided that they should go to his house to meet his mom since they were officially dating.

"Of course. I told her about you before we got together. She already loves you and she doesn't even know you. You have that effect on people," Nathan told her. Haley smiled and playfully hit his arm.

He shrugged. "It's true."

"What'd you tell her about me?" she asked curiously. She really cared about what her boyfriend's mother thought about her.

"That you're beautiful, kind, strong, fierce, independent, brave, smart. You're a lot of things, Haley James, and I love every single one of your beautiful traits that make up a beautiful girl like you," he smiled. She smiled back.

"Thank you, Nathan." He nodded. After two more minutes of driving, they finally arrived at Nathan's house. Dan was visiting Nathan's grandparents in Florida, but Deb was home at the moment.

"Well, this is it," Nathan said.

"I really want her to like me," Haley said.

"She will, Hales, trust me. Who wouldn't like my sexy girlfriend?" he smirked. She playfully hit his arm and then got out of the car. He got out of the car and then walked over to her to put his arm around her shoulders. He pulled her into a hug.

"She'll love you. Trust me," he breathed into her shoulder.

She nodded and then they walked hand in hand to Nathan's porch. He grabbed his keys from his pocket and quickly opened the door, shutting it behind them.

"Mom? Can you come here?" he called out to his mom. It was only seconds later that Deb ran downstairs with a big smile on her face.

"Yes, Nate?" she asked. She was so glad that he was finally opening up to her. He hadn't come home last night, but she assumed it was because things were going well with Haley. Like her son, she had hoped that Haley would one day become her daughter-in-law. She hadn't even met her yet, but she loved her already.

"I want you to meet someone. This is Haley James," he said, jerking his thumb towards his girlfriend who smiled at Deb.

Deb grinned widely and pulled Haley in for a hug. Haley was surprised at first that she was hugging her boyfriend's mother, but she eventually relaxed and hugged back. Finally, Deb pulled back.

"Haley James, it is so nice to meet you. Nathan has told me a lot about you," Deb smiled.

"All good things, I hope?" Haley chuckled.

"Yes. It was along the lines of, brilliant, brave, beautiful, independent…and he might've mentioned that you completely changed his entire world," Deb gushed.

Haley smiled. "In a good way?"

Deb nodded. "Definitely. Why don't you sit down and we'll get to know each other?"

Haley nodded. "Sure."

"Okay. I'll just grab some drinks from the kitchen and Nathan will show you the living room, where we can talk," Deb said, and then walked off to the kitchen.

"That went well," Nathan smirked. "See? I told you. There was nothing you had to worry about. My mom instantly loved you."

"I like her. She's really nice," Haley commented.

"Yeah. She's pretty different than my dad. He can be a total ass. Kind of like who I used to be. The only difference is that I was willing to change my ways. And I'm glad I did," he smirked, looking at his girlfriend. Her blonde hair was down in its natural loose curls. Her doe brown eyes were sparkling and she was wearing white jeans and a blue tank top.

"Come on. Let's go talk to your mom," Haley said, pulling her boyfriend down the hall. He showed her the living room and they both sat down on the couch. Seconds later, Deb emerged from the kitchen holding a tray of lemonade. She put it down on the coffee table and then sat down on a chair.

"So tell me about yourself, Haley," Deb suggested.

"Well, I was born right here in Tree Hill. I've been best friends with Lucas since we were six." Deb raised an eyebrow at that. Haley James was best friends with her husband's other son? Would this turn out well? Or would it only result in a mess?

"Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, and I have been friends since the second grade. I'm one of seven- I have three brothers; Matt, Robert, and Eli, and three sisters; Vivian, Taylor, and Quinn-"

"So you're used to having a big family, huh?" Deb interrupted Haley.

"Yeah, I am. It was pretty noisy when we were all kids. But Eli, Robert, Matt, and Vivian are all married and they all have kids. Quinn and Taylor are in college," Haley explained.

"How many kids does each of your siblings have?" Deb asked.

"Eli and his wife, Emily, have three boys- Ethan, Evan, and Eric. Matt and his wife, Solaris, have two sons and a daughter- Seth, Mark, and Avery. Robert and his wife, Christine, have three sons- Dylan, Landon, and Caleb. And Vivian and her husband, Bill, have triplets, two girls and a boy- Josh, William, and Sophie," Haley finished.

"So all your siblings besides Quinn and Taylor are married and have three kids?" Deb concluded.

"Yeah. I have ten nephews and two nieces and I'm only sixteen," Haley laughed. Deb laughed back. This girl seemed to be all about her family. She liked that.

"So you want kids?" Deb asked.

"Yeah, I do."

"A little girl?" Deb asked. When she was in high school, all her friends wanted daughters to dress up and take shopping with them and practically treat them like a doll. But she always wanted a son so that she could look at him everyday as a reminder of her husband. Unfortunately, her husband was Dan.

"No, actually, I want a son. I want a little boy so that I could feel my heart break because he reminds me so much of his wonderful father," Haley explained, smiling.

"That's wonderful, Haley. So how'd you and Nathan meet?" Deb smirked.

"Mom," Nathan chuckled. She was going to embarrass him and she was doing a pretty good job at it so far.

"I started tutoring him about a week ago. We eventually became friends after we hung out during the sessions. And I think you know the rest…" Haley trailed off.

"You mean the part where Nathan kissed you, you ran off, and he was a wreck?" Deb laughed. Nathan put his hand on his forehead.

Haley raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Really? He was a wreck?"

"Oh, yeah. He was a wreck. He'll try to deny it if you ask him, but yeah. He was a total mess," Deb chuckled. Haley smiled. She loved Nathan's mom. She was so friendly and outgoing. She'd hope she'd learn more about her and Nathan in the times to come.

* * *

**_July 12, 2003_**

Haley rang the doorbell and waited. She was currently standing on Brooke's porch. She, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, and Lucas were all going to hang out like the old times. Yesterday, after she and Nathan had left his house, they'd both decided that they didn't want to keep their relationship in hiding and they should just tell her friends. Haley was scared, especially about Lucas's reaction. Nathan wasn't scared, though. He'd told her constantly that if they were her real friends, they'd support her and accept her new love.

"Hey Tutor Girl," Brooke said as she opened the door.

"Hi Tigger," she greeted her friend, walking in. She shut the door behind her and took off her jeans jacket. She put it on the chair and then turned to her friend.

"What's that amazing smell?" Haley asked. It smelled like mac-and-cheese or something, which was obviously the food of the gods.

"Well, I cooked-"

"You cooked?" Haley asked incredulously. Brooke never cooked, and when she did, it always resulted in Brooke catching something on fire.

"Well, Peyton cooked mac and cheese," Brooke corrected herself.

"Oh thank goodness," Haley sighed a breath in relief, putting a hand on her chest.

Brooke rolled her eyes playfully. "Yes, I understand that I cannot cook, Haley-Bob."

"Can't cook? Yeah, you sure as hell can't. Remember you what happened last Thanksgiving when my parents came over?"

"Yeah. I don't know how I managed to set a turkey on fire," Brooke laughed.

Every Thanksgiving, her parents, Lucas's mom, Jake's parents, and Peyton's dad joined them for Thanksgiving at Brooke's house. They went to Brooke's house every year because Brooke's parents could never make it to the celebration since they were working in California. Brooke didn't seem bothered by it because that was her normality, but Haley knew that deep down inside, Brooke wished her parents weren't so distant and they actually spent time with her instead of giving her a check every week through the mail.

"Are the guys here yet?" Haley asked, looking around.

"Yeah, they're watching basketball in the living room. I think Peyton's grabbing the food from the oven. In the meantime, we can go to your room, because I need to talk to you," Brooke told Haley, grabbing her and pulling her up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"What do you need to talk about?" Haley said, sitting on the edge of Brooke's set bed.

"How'd things go between you and Nathan Scott?" Brooke kinked an eyebrow.

"Well, I began tutoring him and uh, it's been going fine," Haley answered. She didn't want to tell Brooke about her and Nathan dating until she told the rest of them.

"Good for you, Haley. I knew you'd do the right thing. Is there anything else you need to tell me?" Brooke asked, smirking.

"Uh, no. Why?" Haley asked.

"You sure?" Brooke asked again.

"Positive. Why?"

"Well, you see, yesterday, I was walking to the hair solon to get my hair done like usual, when I saw the most peculiar thing. Some girl was kissing Nathan Scott and it looked exactly like you," Brooke smirked knowingly. Haley blushed. She knew she shouldn't have kissed Nathan outside in public yesterday. But she just couldn't help herself. He was irresistible.

"Okay, fine. Nathan and I are dating," Haley confessed. Brooke squealed.

"Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh! You're dating _the _Nathan Scott!"

Haley shrugged. "You're dating Lucas Scott. What's the difference?" she asked nonchalantly.

"He's Nathan Scott!"

"Tigger, you're just as popular as Nathan. If anything, you and Peyton are probably even more popular than him," Haley thought.

"Well so are you. But this is Nathan. The dreamy Nathan with those blue eyes and-"

"Back off, girlie, he's mine," Haley chuckled.

"Damn girl, you're lucky. Well, I'd consider myself lucky since I still have the greatest man in the world. Lucas is all mine," Brooke grinned.

"You got that right, Tigger."

"Yeah. I do."

* * *

"Remember the time when Haley fell down the stairs in the fourth grade?" Peyton laughed. Haley turned red. That wasn't exactly a memorable experience.

"That happened?" Jake asked, laughing. He hadn't met Lucas and the girls until middle school, in the sixth grade.

"Yeah. We were outside waiting for our teacher to bring us down to the playground when Haley lost her balance and completely fell down every single step. You remember that, Luke?" Brooke asked her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I do," Lucas chuckled. "I was right next to her. I remember running down to the bottom of the stairs to see if she was okay. Her entire arm was bleeding and she broke her leg, yet she was laughing. Laughing, Hales, really?"

"I have no idea as to why I was laughing. I was on crutches for the next four weeks," Haley laughed.

As they continued to retell stories, Haley heard the doorbell ring. She excused herself and ran to the foyer to get the door. She opened the door, revealing Nathan who was wearing a _Ravens _sweatshirt and jeans.

"Hey. What are you doing here? Lucas might see you," she whispered.

"Remember how we were talking about tell him?" he asked her. She nodded.

"I want to do it now. Right here, right now, no turning back," he declared.

"N-now?" she asked, surprised. She'd thought she'd have a couple of days to think about what'd she say to Lucas. But it looks like this was happening right now.

"Yeah. I don't want to hide who we are, Haley."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Unless, you're embarrassed of me?"

"No, no, it's not that. It's just, I'm scared Lucas will get mad," Haley told her boyfriend.

"He'll be fine. C'mon. Let's do this. We'll get through this together," Nathan assured her.

Haley took a deep breath and then nodded. They slowly walked towards the kitchen where Lucas, Peyton, Jake, and Brooke were still talking. Lucas's back was faced towards them, so he couldn't see Nathan.

"Guys. We have a visitor," Haley said. Jake, Peyton, and Brooke looked up while Lucas turned around. Lucas, Jake, and Peyton's eyes grew wide while Brooke just sat in her chair and smiled. Lucas stood up in outrage.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Nathan.

"I-"

"What is he doing here, Haley?" Lucas interrupted his brother and asked his best friend.

"Well, I-"

"Did you invite him?"

"Uh-"

"What on Earth is going on?"

"You see-"

"Why aren't you answering any of my questions, huh?"

"Because you don't give us any time to answer them!" Haley shouted.

"Well then, I'd like an explanation. Now," Lucas demanded, his arms crossed over his chest.

Haley took a deep breath. "Nathan and I are dating," she said straightforwardly.

"What?!" Jake interrupted.

"You're dating him?" Peyton asked her.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?" Lucas screamed in outrage.

"Ah, young love," Brooke sighed dreamily. The three stared at her incredulously.

"You knew about this?" Lucas asked his girlfriend.

"Yeah. Aren't they cute?" Brooke squealed. She honestly didn't see what the big deal was. Haley and Nathan liked each other, so why couldn't they be together just because Nathan hated Haley's best friend?

"When'd you find out?" Peyton asked.

"Oh, just today," Brooke said.

"And you're not at all upset?"

"No. It's not that big of a deal."

"YES IT IS! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, BROOKE? MY BROTHER IS OBVIOUSLY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HALEY JUST TO GET TO ME! HE'S DOING THIS BECAUSE HE HATES ME AND THE BEST WAY TO GET TO ME IS TO SEDUCE MY BEST FRIEND! HALEY! HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID AND FALL INTO HIS TRAPS? HOW COULD YOU BE LIKE THAT?" Lucas screamed.

"Hey!" Nathan yelled back. "Haley is not stupid. Don't you dare ever say that again!"

Lucas sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry I called you stupid, Hales. You're not stupid, you're just falling in his traps for no reason."

"I know I've been an ass this past year, but that's changed. I'm sorry for hazing you, Lucas, but Haley's changed me-"

"I don't need to here that kind of shit," Lucas interrupted him. "Haley did not change you. Don't feed me that kind of crap."

"It's not crap. Look, Haley looked beyond my exterior and actually brought out my interior. To be honest, this whole bad boy thing is just a defense mechanism. I act like this because, because of _Dan. _He made me like that. He told me to haze you because he's jealous of you and who you could be on the Ravens. And I followed him because he's Dan and he gets what he wants and he won't stop fighting until he wins. Haley is amazing. I could go on and on about how she is a beautiful and strong and fierce woman. I'm not taking advantage of Haley, Lucas. And if you were her friend, you would accept that we're dating," Nathan finished.

Lucas rubbed his face with his hands and let out a ragged, breathy sigh. Why did his life have to be so damn complicated.

"Please, just accept us, Luke," Haley begged her best friend. He'd scared her after he starting screaming at her. Half of her kind of expected him to act like this, but the other half was kind of hoping that he'd automatically accept them.

"Fine. But I don't like him. I'm just doing this for you, Hales. Not for him. Only for you. Because it'll never be for him. Never."

* * *

**_July 13, 2003_**

It was 6:56 AM on a warm Tuesday morning. He'd gotten up early to go for a jog around Tree Hill. After Lucas had finally accepted him and Haley as a couple, they'd gone to his house and hung out for a while. Deb was home and she'd showed Haley pictures of Nathan when he was a child playing basketball. Nathan smiled. His girlfriend and his mom got along well. He liked that.

After running for about an hour, Nathan stopped to take a breath. Sitting on a park bench, he caught his breath. As he began to stand up, he felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Hey sexy," the voice said. He turned around.

"Rachel?"

"That's me," she smirked. She and Nathan hadn't had much of a history together- she was a cheerleader and he was a basketball player, so everyone thought the would date, but they never did. Not once. He tried brushing her off because he was never interested in her, even when he was sleeping around, but she never took a hint.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was walking around Tree Hill, saw my favorite man, and thought I'd say hi. I bet you were thinking about me anyway," she smirked.

"Look, Rachel. You have to understand that I'm not into you, okay? And I never will be," he told her off.

"Yes, you will be sexy. You're hot and I'm hot. So let's be hot together."

"You did not just say that," Nathan said.

"Well, I did."

"Rachel, I need you to understand that I'm-"

Rachel cut him off by forcefully kissing him. She pressed her lips hard against his and climbed on top of his lap, straddling him. She grinded her hips against his. She moved her hands up and down his chest as she continued to kiss him hard. And while she was doing this, Nathan sat there in shock. Finally, regaining his senses, he pushed her off of him. He wiped his mouth. He couldn't stand her taste. The only one he loved was Haley's.

"Why the hell did you just do that?" he asked angrily.

"You're just trying to deny your feelings for me. So, now that I kissed you, you can't deny them anymore," she said.

"Open your eyes, Rachel. I don't love you and I never will. Stop being such an attention whore and finally another guy. Besides, I'm taken," he told her.

"By who?" Rachel asked. Nathan Scott was dating? She never thought this day would come.

Nathan thought about it. Should he tell her who he was dating? No, he shouldn't. She'd try to threaten Haley and it'd scare her.

"Someone. And you'll never find out," he told her and then walked off, leaving her speechless.

* * *

**_July 15, 2003_**

Two days later, Nathan and Haley were lying on his bed. Nathan hadn't told Haley about Rachel kissing him because he knew it'd only upset her and he wasn't the one who kissed her. He pushed Rachel off and told her that he was taken. There was no need to tell Haley about it.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered into her hair. She giggled.

"You're not too bad to look at either," she teased. He laughed and then sat up.

"Can I talk to you about something?" he asked her seriously. She noticed the serious look on his face and sat up as well. She nodded.

"Sure."

"Look, I know that in my past, I was the guy to sleep around and everything. I just want you to realize that I'm not that guy anymore and I won't pressure you into sleeping with me. Just because it was in my past, doesn't mean it's in my future with you," he told her. She leaned in and kissed his lips.

"Thank you, Nathan. It means a lot. I just want to wait until I'm ready," she told him.

"And that's completely fine." He smiled and laid back down with Haley in his arms.

"I love you," he whispered. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it just came out. And he knew that he loved her for a while now. She jerked up.

"What?" she asked surprised. Nathan loved her? This took a turn on the road.

He sat up as well. "I fell for you the moment I met you," he revealed. "Everything about you is amazing. I don't see how people cannot fall in love with you instantly. You have changed my entire world, Haley James, and I love you so much for it. I've never felt like this before, but what I know is that I cannot be without you and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to be the man who is with you when all your dreams come true, because I love you more than anything or anyone," he confessed. She sat there shocked. Never would she think that Nathan would fall in love, especially with her.

"I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. You don't have to say you love me back. I just wanted to let you know how I feel."

They sat there in a silence. Haley thought about it. The past week with Nathan had been amazing. He really had changed for the better. She couldn't imagine living life without him anymore. She wanted him next to her when he dreams came true. She did love him, even if Lucas didn't.

"I love you, too," she whispered, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"I love you too. I love that you open up to me. I love how you let me in all the way. I love how no one gets you the way that I do. And I love the way you look at me and the way you protect me from all the danger that surrounds us. I just love you too," she told him.

He smiled widely. His girl loved him back. Haley James, the most amazing girl in the world, loved him back. And nothing would change that. He kissed her tenderly and they lay in each other's arms, enjoying each other's presence.


	3. Love Me, Love Me Not

_"And that's what true love really is. It's not this fairy tale life that never knows pain. But it's two souls facing it together and diminishing it with unconditional love."_  
_-Lucas Scott_

**Chapter 3: Love Me, Love Me Not**

_One Month Later..._

**_August 15, 2003_**

"Can I talk to you, mom?" Nathan asked his mom, sitting down at the breakfast table. Dan was, once again, on a business trip, but Deb and Nathan honestly didn't mind his absence. It wasn't like his absence was a big difference in their lives. They knew that was an awful thing to say about him, but it was true. He was never home and when he was, he wasn't a supportive or helpful husband and father.

"Yeah, sure, honey," Deb said, grabbing a carton of chocolate milk and a bottle of orange juice from the fridge. "What's on your mind?"

"You like Haley, right?" Nathan started. If he was going to do what he wanted to do, he had to make sure he got his mother's approval first before he made an final decisions. His mother's opinion meant everything to him.

"Of course I do. She's wonderful and I can see that you love her a lot," Deb answered, handing Nathan the orange juice and then pouring herself a glass of milk.

"I do love her a lot," Nathan smiled.

"So what's this about?" Deb asked, sitting down and taking a bite of her pancakes.

"Do you think I'm too young to fall in love?" Nathan asked.

Deb shook her head. "No. There's no age as to when you're 'supposed' to fall in love. It just happens, whether you're sixteen or sixty. Why are you asking?"

Nathan took a deep breath. "I want to ask Haley to marry me."

Deb was taken aback and dropped her fork in surprise. "W-what?"

"I want Haley to be my wife more than anything. I love her so much, and I can't imagine life without her. So why not get married now?" Nathan shrugged.

Deb finally regained her senses and began talking. "Nathan, I like how you're in love with this amazing girl, but marriage? You're so young."

"You just said there's no age for love," Nathan protested.

"Yes, I did. But I didn't say marriage. That's a whole new step. I'm not sure if you're ready for that. You're sixteen, Nathan. Sixteen years old. You have a whole life ahead of you. Why do you want to throw it all away?"

"I'm not throwing my life away. I love Haley so much, it hurts. I want to spend the rest of my life making her happy. I want to be with her forever. So why can't forever start today?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan-"

"Mom. Listen. I love her. I love Haley James. And I told you before. I want more than anything, for her to become Haley James Scott," Nathan interrupted his mother.

"And I would very much like that too. But you haven't even graduated high school. You don't know where you're going for college. Why get married if your future is undecided?"

"My future is undecided, but I know that I want her in my future, standing right next to me. I want to be there when all her dreams come true and I want her to be there when all my dreams come true," Nathan said.

"You really want to get married at such a young age?" Deb sighed.

"Yeah."

"What if you regret it down the road? What if things don't work out and you two get divorced?" she thought.

"I wouldn't regret marrying Haley. She's everything to me. I told you. I want to be with her forever. Marriage won't ruin us- it will only bring us closer," Nathan said.

"Nathan-"

"I want to marry Haley so badly, it hurts. I, I don't know what I'd do without her."

Deb sighed. "Then go marry her."

Nathan widened his eyes. "You'll let me do it?"

Deb nodded. "If this is what you want."

"This is what I want," Nathan answered.

"Then I'll help you get a ring," Deb replied. Deb's face then broke into a huge smile. "My baby's getting married. And I'm gonna have the most beautiful daughter-in-law in the world. Everything will be perfect. I promise."

* * *

Nathan walked up to Brooke's porch and braced himself. He quickly knocked the door and took a deep breath. Brooke opened the door, squinted, and then yawned.

"Nathan? What are you doing here? It's 11:30 PM. It's late out and I'm tired. You know I need my beauty sleep," Brooke said, flipping her hear and giving him a tired smile.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just needed to ask you to do me a favor," Nathan told her.

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "A favor? And what kind of favor are we talking about here?"

"Can you get Haley out of her house tomorrow? And by ten o'clock sharp? I need you to make sure she is not in her house," Nathan pleaded.

"How am supposed to get her out of her house?" Brooke asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't know. Take her shopping, go to a salon, go to the river court, I don't know. I just need her out of the house," Nathan said.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you need her out of the house?" Brooke asked suspiciously. What did he _need _to do in her house that was so important that she couldn't be there?

"Brooke…" Nathan begged, hoping not to tell her. Brooke would probably ruin the surprise and when he got down on one knee, Haley would already know about it.

"Sorry, Nate. If you want me to get your girlfriend out of her house for the day, I'm gonna need some answers and information," Brooke demanded.

Nathan sighed. It looks like he wasn't getting out of this. "Swear that you won't tell Haley or anyone else," he pleaded.

"Why?" Brooke asked suspiciously.

"Just promise me."

Brooke shrugged. "Sure," she promised.

"I, uh, well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna ask Haley to marry me," Nathan revealed. Brooke gasped.

"You're, you're, you want to marry Haley?" Brooke stuttered.

"Yeah, I do. I love her," Nathan explained.

"You're sixteen, Nathan. You do understand that, right?" Brooke asked, comprehending the whole situation.

"Why does age matter?"

"It doesn't, I just…" Brooke trailed off.

"If Lucas proposed right here, right now, would you say yes?" Nathan asked.

"That's no fair. You and Haley are so serious. Lucas and I are serious, but I haven't even told him I love him yet. I love Lucas so much, but I haven't told him yet and I don't know if our relationship is ready for that stage yet. So who knows if Lucas and I are ready for marriage right now," Brooke explained.

"Can you please just help me with this, Brooke?" he asked his friend, rubbing his temple.

"Sure. Tell me what happens. Oh, and if Haley does say yes, I want to be the maid of honor!" Brooke squealed. Nathan laughed. Oh Brooke.

* * *

**_August 16, 2003_**

Nathan climbed up the tree that was in front of Haley's window. He finally got up to her window and peered through it. It was empty. Her room was empty, which meant she probably wasn't home. Good job, Brooke. Good job.

Nathan climbed down the tree and ran to the front door, where he straightened himself up and rang the doorbell. Lydia opened the door with a huge smile on her face. He could smell something like toast or pancakes coming from the kitchen.

"Nathan," she greeted him cheerfully. She reminded him of an older Brooke.

"Good morning, Mrs. James," he greeted her back politely. If he was going to do this right, he had to make sure she liked him a lot to allow him to marry their youngest daughter at such a young age.

"Nathan, you're my baby girl's boyfriend. We should be closer. Call me Lydia," Lydia insisted.

Nathan smiled. "Sure. Is, uh, is Haley home right now?" he asked, making sure the coast was clear.

Lydia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. She just left a couple of minutes ago to go shopping with Brooke. If you need her, maybe you should come back later. Brooke told me they'd be back after lunch."

"No, I don't need her right now. Can I just, uh, talk to you and Mr. James?"

Lydia looked at him for a second and then nodded. "Sure. Let me go get him and then we can talk in the kitchen."

Lydia led Nathan to the kitchen and he sat down on one of the chairs while she opened a window.

"Jimmy! Can you come inside?" she called out to her husband. In almost a second, Jimmy rushed inside carrying a shovel.

"Who's hurt?" he asked.

Lydia laughed. "No one. Nathan wants to talk to us," she explained, jerking her thumb towards their daughter's boyfriend.

Jimmy raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Ah. Nathan. How are you?" he asked, putting the shovel down and walking towards Nathan to pat his back.

"I'm doing well, sir," he answered.

"Good, good. So you wanted to talk to us about something?" Jimmy asked.

Nathan nodded. "Yes, Mr. James, I-"

"Call me Jimmy," Jimmy interrupted him.

"That's what I told him about me," Lydia chuckled.

Nathan nervously laughed. Would they just let him get out what he wanted to ask them?

"Well, _Jimmy_, I need to talk to you about Haley," he started.

"Okay..."

"You should probably sit down for this," Nathan suggested. They looked at him suspiciously before sitting down.

"So, I need to talk to you about Haley," he said again.

"She's your headache now," Jimmy joked.

"Is there a problem?" Lydia asked, ignoring her husband's joke.

"No, there's no problem. I, uh, I just need to talk to you about my relationship with Haley," he said. They nodded and gestured for him to continue.

"As you probably know, Haley and I have are pretty serious about our relationship," he began, taking a deep breath. "I love her so much, more than words can say. I want to be with her for the rest of my life. There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for your daughter. I'd sacrifice anything- even my life- for her, because she has changed my world and made me lucky enough to love her."

"What are you saying, Nathan?" Lydia asked.

He took a deep breath. "I'd like to marry your daughter."

Lydia and Jimmy sat there with surprised expressions painted across their faces. Nathan could've swore that he heard Jimmy curse underneath his breath while Lydia began to take huge breaths.

Jimmy finally broke the ice. "You understand that you're in high school, son?"

"Yes, I do, sir," Nathan said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"And you want to get married right now?"

Nathan nodded.

"You have so many years ahead of you. Why can't you wait a couple of years to marry her? If you really love her, you'll wait."

Nathan shrugged. "Why can't forever start today?"

Jimmy closed his mouth, not knowing what to say about that. Lydia quickly spoke up.

"Nathan, I hope you realize what you are saying," she said.

"I do, Mrs. Jam- Lydia. But know that I love her so much. I thought a lot about this before I came over to talk to you about this, and I think it's the right decision," he told her.

"What if it drives you two apart?" Jimmy finally spoke.

Nathan looked at him. "It will only bring us closer."

"Can Jimmy and I have a second?" Lydia asked Nathan, putting her hand on her husband's shoulder.

Nathan nodded. "Of course."

Jimmy and Lydia left the room and Nathan sat down on one of the chairs.

Lydia and Jimmy walked into the living room and shut the door behind them.

"What is that boy thinking? He wants to marry Haley? They're sixteen!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"Jimmy, honey, calm down," she soothed her husband, sitting him down. "Maybe this is right for them."

"Right for them? Do I need to remind you that he's the boy who climbs up two stories to Haley's window when he can just use the front door?"

"I thought you liked Nathan," Lydia said.

"I do. But they're too young for marriage."

"Jimmy. You know our daughter. Most days, she's more mature than we are," Lydia chuckled. "I think we should allow it. She's responsible enough to handle marriage."

"Lydia-"

"You know, my parents didn't allow me to marry you?" Lydia revealed. Jimmy looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because they said we were too young."

"Why didn't you listen to them?" Jimmy asked.

"Because I loved you too much to listen to them. And look at us now. Seven beautiful children. I think Haley would be just fine," Lydia explained.

Jimmy sighed. "Alright, fine. She can get married. Well, that is, if she says yes."

"You won't regret this," Lydia said, pulling her husband to the kitchen where they found Nathan sitting on a chair.

"Nathan, we've made a decision," she said him. Nathan looked up and stood up from the chair.

"Yes?"

They looked at each other. "You can marry Haley."

Nathan smiled. "Really?"

"Yes, we trust you and if you think that this is right for you two, then go off and get married," Lydia said, smiling.

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. James. It means a lot," Nathan said.

"Of course. Where are you planning to ask her?"

"Tonight. And it could either be the best day or the worst day of my life. Lets hope she says yes."

* * *

"Where are you taking me, Nathan?" Haley laughed as Nathan led her towards an unknown location. She was currently blindfolded and they were walking up some steps.

"Just a little more, babe," he encouraged her. She walked up a few more stairs before they reached the location.

"Can I take off my blindfold now?" she asked her boyfriend of one month.

"Sure," he said, and she quickly took the blindfold off to see they were on the top of Karen's cafe. In the corner lay her and Lucas's mini golf course. In the middle of the roof, there was a table set for two. A single white rose lay in the middle of the table.

"What is all this?" she asked him as he led her to the table.

"This is for the most beautiful girl in the world," he said, pulling her chair out. She sat down and pulled the lid off the food. She gasped and smiled.

"Mac and cheese! The food of the Gods," she smiled.

He laughed. "Only you would say that, Hales."

"Shut up," she teased back. "Why'd you bring me here, Nathan?"

"Two reasons. One, I wanted to give you a night you'd never forget...and two, I have to ask you something important," he explained.

"Okay," she said. "What do you need to ask me?"

"I want to give you a night you'll never forget first. I got you something," he said, pulling a box out of his pocket. The ring box was in the other pocket.

"Oh my gosh, Nathan, you didn't have to get me anything," Haley said, looking at the box that he was holding. He gave it to her and smiled.

"I wanted to," he said. "Open it."

She slowly opened the box to reveal a beautiful silver necklace.

"Oh my gosh, I, I can't take this, Nathan," she said, giving the box back to him. "It's too much."

He chuckled. "Nothing is ever too much for you or too expensive. I bought this because I love you so much and I want to show you that," he said, giving the box back to her. He then got up, took the necklace out of the box, and put it around her neck.

"Don't say I never gave you anything" he smirked, sitting back down.

She let out a breathy laugh. "You've given me everything. And I love you for that." She leaned over and kissed him quickly.

After they ate, they played a couple of rounds on the mini golf course that Lucas and Haley built when they were kids. Of course, Haley won all three rounds, but Nathan playfully denied her wins, saying that he "let her win."

"It's been a great night, Nate," Haley sighed happily to her boyfriend as they were looking at the stars from the edge of the roof.

"You deserve it, Hales. You deserve everything good in the world. You're beautiful," he said, pecking her cheek. She blushed.

"You treat me too well," she giggled.

He just shook his head. "I don't treat you too well. I treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

She sighed in content. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

He took a deep breath. It was now or never. He was doing this. He was really proposing to the love of his life. He took both of her hands and had her sit down.

"I need to ask you something and I want you to listen and not say a word until I'm done," he smiled.

She nodded, confused. "Okay."

"I, uh, I grew up hiding myself behind a mask because nobody would let me show who I really was. Dan was the main reason for that, but there were other components. The only person who really did encourage me to break down the exterior was my mom. But I couldn't always rely on her because she had her own problems. Dan was her main problem. She was constantly standing in his shadow, just like I was. I've never had a good relationship with Dan, and I don't think I ever will have a good relationship with him. Freshman and sophomore year were hard, because I had to continue hiding behind that mask. I don't really care much about Tim or any of those other guys who only focus on sex and booze. But I had to go along with it because, in high school, I couldn't take the mask off. Then I met you, and my whole world changed in the best way possible. You are the first person who let me in and allowed me to open up. You didn't care that I was the basketball star- you wanted to help me, and I think asking you to be my tutor was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it brought us here. I don't have to hide anymore, because I have someone to rely on when life gets hard and things change. But the one thing that will not change is my strong love for you. That will never alter. Haley, when I look into your eyes, my love for you only grows and I see the rest of my life with you. You are my everything, and you always will be. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I've never felt this way. I don't know what I'd do without you, which is why I want to be with you forever. I love you so much, more than words can say. And I know people say that we're too young and our whole relationship is fake and cliche. Well, I don't feel that way," he said. He pulled the box out of his pocket and got down on one knee.

"Haley James, from the day I met you, I've dreamed of you one day becoming Haley James Scott. That desire has only grown as I fall more and more in love with you everyday." He opened the box to reveal a beautiful, yet simple, diamond ring that Deb helped him buy. They had both pitched in to buy the expensive ring (and they might've used Dan's credit card as well).

"You and I belong together forever. Always and forever. Will you marry me?" he asked.

By now, tears were spilling freely out of Haley's eyes. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't seen this coming at all. They were so young, but they were also so in love. And she knew that she couldn't imagine life without him. She could see a future with him down the road, and that's what she wanted. So why couldn't forever start today.

"Yes," she cried with tears of joy. His smile on his face widened and he slipped the ring on her finger. Happy tears were brimming in eyes. Haley was going to be his wife. His life couldn't be more perfect. He stood up and kissed her with passion, joy, and love.

"I love you so much, Haley," he promised.

"I love you too, Nathan Scott."

The next few hours had gone by in a blur. The next thing he knew, they had made it to his house and were making there way to his bedroom. His heart was pounding and his palms were sweating. He knew that Haley wanted to wait until marriage to have sex, but since they were now engaged, would she want to sleep with him? He would never pressure her, ever. But he also didn't want to make her think that she had to sleep with him just because they were getting married.

Haley interrupted his thoughts by lightly pushing him onto the bed and getting on the bed to kiss him. The kiss started out slow, but it quickly got faster. Before he knew it, she was tugging at his shirt to pull it off. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Her doe brown eyes were filled with want and desire. He'd never seen her this way.

"Haley, we don't have to do anything," he told her.

"No, no, I want to. I love you...and we're getting married. I want to fully be with you," she said. He cracked and smile and kissed her again. Tonight was going to be, probably already was, the best day of his life.

* * *

_**August 17, 2003**_

"You what?" Brooke shouted to Haley. She and Haley were currently in Brooke's room, waiting for the guys and Peyton to come over. They were going to hang out like the old times, with the addition of Nathan, by having a huge dinner, retelling memories, watching basketball (for the guys), and reading fashion magazines (for the girls, specifically _Brooke_).

"I slept with Nathan," Haley told her friend nonchalantly.

"But I thought you were going to wait for marriage...oh wait a minute," Brooke said, remembering that Nathan was going to, or probably already did, propose to Haley.

"What?" Haley asked Brooke, sensing her slightly suddenly strange behavior.

"Nothing..." Brooke said.

"What do you know, Tigger?"

"Nothing!" Brooke repeated, her voice going slightly higher.

"Tigger..." Haley warned.

Brooke finally gave in and sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. I know that you and Nathan are getting married," she revealed.

"How?"

"He told me about it," Brooke answered.

"Why?"

"He needed me to get you out of the house so he could talk to your parents or something," Brooke replied, looking at her phone. Haley grabbed her phone and chucked it across the room.

"Hey! I was using-"

"Why did Nathan need to talk to my parents?" Haley asked.

Brooke shrugged. "Probably to ask for their permission to marry you."

Haley smiled. Nathan was so sweet.

"He really asked my parents?"

"I'm assuming so. You know, he's really sweet. I thought you said he was an arrogant, selfish jackass who didn't care about anyone but himself," Brooke said.

"I was wrong. Completely wrong about him. He's amazing," Haley gushed.

"Can I see the ring?" Brooke asked. Haley showed her the diamond ring.

Brooke gasped. "It's so beautiful. Damn, Tutor Girl, if I wasn't dating Lucas, I'd have Nathan for myself."

"Back off, Tigger, he's mine," Haley laughed.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, so Brooke and Haley raced downstairs to open the door. Behind the red door stood Lucas, Nathan, Peyton, and Jake.

"Broody!" Brooke exclaimed, jumping into his arms.

"Hey Cheery," he chuckled, kissing her.

"Nathan!" Haley greeted him, kissing him.

"Hey babe," he smiled after he broke the kiss.

As Nathan and Haley were hugging, it was then that Peyton noticed the diamond ring on Haley's left ring finger. She gasped and held her hand to her chest.

"Are you okay, Peyton?" Jake asked, putting his hand on her back as she gasped for air.

"I, I," she choked out, still shocked by the ring.

"What's wrong? Do you need water?" Jake asked again, genuinely concerned about his girlfriend. She looked like she was having an asthma attack or something like that.

"Finger...ring...look...I..." she stuttered out. Brooke instantly knew what she was talking about. Jake and Lucas, however, were a bit confused.

"Say that again, Peyt," Jake told her. She finally wore out of her shock.

"Haley has a huge rock on her ring finger," Peyton said. Lucas and Jake instantly looked at Haley's ring finger to see an engagement ring.

"Haley..." Lucas trailed out. "What's that?"

"Uh..."

"You're engaged?!" Peyton exclaimed, grabbing her friend's hand. All four of them looked at her, awaiting her answer. Finally, she nodded.

"Yes, Nathan and I are engaged," she revealed.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! My friend's engaged!" Peyton exclaimed, hugging her friend. Sure, they were a bit young, but if anyone could take marriage, it was Nathan and Haley.

"Congratulations, Haley," Jake said, hugging her friend.

Brooke smiled. Peyton looked at her.

"Let me guess, B. Davis. You knew about this already?" she asked knowingly.

"Yep, P. Sawyer. I did!" she exclaimed.

"Why does Brooke always seem to know about this stuff before we do?" Jake wondered.

"Because the world loves me!" Brooke answered. They continued to congratulate Nathan and Haley, completely forgetting about Lucas's reaction.

"WHAT THE HELL!" he exclaimed. They all turned to look at him and Haley could already feel her eyes brimming with tears.

"Lucas," she began, but he stopped her.

"HALEY, DON'T TRY TO EXPLAIN. HOW COULD YOU MARRY THIS JACKASS? HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER SPENDING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH THIS SON OF A BITCH? DO YOU CARE ABOUT ME AT ALL? OPEN YOUR EYES, HALEY. THIS IS THE ASS WHO HAZED ME AND TORTURED ME FOR A FREAKING DAMN YEAR! You promised you'd never speak to him, but now you're marrying him?! What has gotten into you? YOU'RE PRETTY DAMN STUPID TO MARRY THIS ASS!"

By now, Haley was full on crying. She knew that Lucas didn't mean any of it, but he was so angry and it hurt her more than anything. He was supposed to be her best friend. He was supposed to get past this and accept her and Nathan's engagement. That's how it was supposed to be.

"Hey!" Nathan yelled. "You do not insult Haley!"

"DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON YOU!" Lucas screamed back. "YOU'RE A SON OF A BITCH. THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE GOING TO MARRY MY BEST FRIEND IS SO THAT YOU CAN GET IN HER PANTS AND SLEEP WITH HER! YOU'RE A FREAKING ASS! WHY DON'T YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND SEE THE GUY WHO IS LOOKING BACK AT YOU!"

"Please, Lucas," Haley cried. Jake, Peyton, and Brooke were now standing awkwardly next to the scene in shock. Brooke never knew her boyfriend could get so angry and pissed.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HALEY!" Lucas swore.

"I'm not taking advantage of her! I love her!" Nathan yelled back.

Lucas laughed bitterly. "You do not love her. You don't care about her at all. You just want to sleep with her since you know she wants to wait for marriage. Don't fall for his traps, Haley. It won't get you anywhere!"

"I'm marrying him, Luke. I love him," Haley declared.

"Look what you've done, Nathan. You've completely messed with Haley's mind and manipulated her into thinking that you're a good guy. Well, you're not a good guy. Haley, do you really want to marry someone who tortured his own brother for a year?!" Lucas asked Haley, turning to her.

"He's not proud of that, Lucas," she said, still crying. "But he's changed, I promise. He won't be that guy anymore. Why can't you give us a chance?"

"Because all his intentions are no good. I don't want to see you getting hurt, Haley," Lucas said.

"But I won't get hurt. He'll protect me from all the danger in the world. He and I will be against the world."

Lucas laughed bitterly again. "You've changed. It used to be you and I against the world, remember. Well it looks like that idea's gone to hell."

"Our marriage won't change anything, Luke, if that's what you're afraid of-"

"I AM NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING! I'M LOOKING AT FOR YOU, BUT YOU CAN NOT SEE THAT HE IS NOTHING BUT BAD! HE'LL ONLY END UP HURTING YOU IN THE END! TRUST ME HALEY! HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU! HE NEVER DID! HE'S A JACKASS AND YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER! AND IF YOU CAN'T SEE THAT, THEN YOU'VE GOT YOURSELF FOOLED!" Lucas yelled at her.

"Stop yelling at her!" Nathan stepped in, seeing his girlfriend in tears again.

"Well stop taking advantage of her!" Lucas demanded.

"I'm not taking advantage of Haley! Can't you see that? Can you see the love that Haley and I hold for each other? Because if you can't, then you're the fool and you're the blind one who cannot see a single damn thing," Nathan shot back.

Lucas snickered. "You're just like Dan. Look in the mirror, Nathan. You'll turn out to be just like your father. A selfish, lonely, arrogant son of a bitch!"

That hit a nerve in Nathan. How dare he call him his father. He was nothing like Dan and he never would be.

"Shut the hell up!" he screamed, slightly scaring Haley. "I am nothing like my father! You take that back!"

"Then why don't you stop taking advantage of my best friend!" Lucas yelled back.

"I AM NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HER! I LOVE HER SO MUCH! I AM NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Nathan screamed. "You know, you're just jealous because Dan abandoned you and chose me and my mom instead."

Lucas punched Nathan square in the jaw. How dare he bring up his bad relationship with his father.

"You know what? I'm leaving. Because you clearly don't know what the hell you're talking about," Lucas yelled, storming out of the house. Brooke ran after him while Haley cried into Nathan's arms. Jake and Peyton stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"Well...this is fairly awkward."

* * *

"Lucas! Lucas!" Brooke yelled, running after her boyfriend. "Lucas, please talk to me!" she said, as he finally stopped at the docks.

"What?" he asked, turning around.

"Why won't you just accept Nathan and Haley?"

"Because they are making a huge mistake," he said. "They're sixteen!"

"But they're in love and they want a future together. Why does age matter?" Brooke asked her boyfriend.

"If they're meant to be, they can wait till after college. But what if they're not meant to be, huh? She'll just get her heart broken by him and he won't care."

"Then that's they're problem, not yours. Luke, I admire that you always protect Haley, but you yelled at her tonight...and you made her cry," Brooke told him.

Lucas put his head in his hands. "I know. I didn't mean to upset her. It's just that Nathan made me so angry...and he doesn't deserve her."

"Well, if he doesn't, Haley is the one person I know who can help Nathan change his ways. Just accept them, Lucas. Please," Brooke pleaded.

Lucas rubbed his face and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair.

"I can't let go, Brooke," he admitted. She looked at him and sat down next to him.

"Is that what this is all about? You can't let go of Haley?" Brooke asked him.

"She's always been my best friend. It's always been me and her against the world when were kids. This whole, marriage to Nathan at sixteen, that's not her. I can't let go of who we used to be," Lucas explained.

"You don't have to let go. She's still the same Haley that you and I both know. I won't have to let go, and neither will you," Brooke comforted her boyfriend.

He sighed. "Thank you, Brooke, for always being there for me."

"You want to know something?" Brooke asked him after they sat there for a minute.

"What?"

"I love you," she admitted. She was finally able to face the truth- she loved Lucas Scott. He was vulnerable right now, and he needed some comforting. And this was the perfect time to let her true feelings out.

He turned to look at her right into her brown eyes. "What?"

"I, I love you, Lucas Scott. I always will," she said.

He sat there, not knowing what to say. He knew he loved Brooke from the minute they started dating, but he could never fully admit it to himself. But now, she was telling him that she loved him back. And nothing could change that.

"I love you, too," he grinned back. A huge smile stretched across her face and she leaned in to kiss her boyfriend.

"Can you please accept Nathan and Haley?" Brooke asked him after they pulled away.

"I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," Brooke said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Nathan and Haley were sitting at the kitchen table in Nathan's house. Deb was visiting Nathan's Uncle Cooper, who was Deb's brother, so Nathan had the house to himself.

Haley was still crying her eyes out. They were thousands of tissues scattered around the room. Nathan had already got five tissue boxes from the closet.

"Haley, you know Lucas didn't mean it," Nathan comforted his girlfriend.

"He hates me," she cried.

"He doesn't hate you. He was just upset about this whole marriage thing. He'll come around, baby," Nathan promised her.

"No he won't. Did you see his face? He was so angry, and so upset. He's disappointed in me," Haley cried.

"He's just shocked. I promise you, Haley. He doesn't hate you at all," Nathan soothed her.

"Did you hear the things he said to me? He wouldn't say those things if he didn't hate me. That's not my Lucas. That's a complete stranger who hates me." Nathan was seriously going to kick Lucas's ass for making Haley cry.

"Haley, Haley, I need you to calm down, okay? If Lucas doesn't accept our marriage, than that's his problem, not ours. I love you, and that's all that matters," Nathan said, holding Haley in his arms. "Why don't we go to bed and you can sleep this whole thing off?" he suggested.

She sniffed and nodded. Today couldn't get any worse.

* * *

While Nathan fell asleep quickly, Haley couldn't bring herself to sleep. She was still so upset about what Lucas said to her. She know he didn't mean it- of course he didn't. But it still hurt like hell. She looked over at Nathan who was sleeping peacefully. She watched his chest rise up and down. She sighed, knowing she would not be able to sleep tonight, and got out of bed. She opened the front door, still in her pajamas and a pair of flip flops, and started walking down the sideways, hoping to get some fresh air. She just needed to breathe and let everything truly sink in.

She continued to walk for about ten minutes and then checked her phone for the time.

_11:57 PM_

She sighed. She better get back before Nathan realized she was missing. She started walking back and slowly walked across the street, not looking where she was going. Before she knew what was happening, she heard the screech of a car and saw bright lights. The car honked, but before she could move, she felt the impact of the car hit her like a bullet. She slid up the car hood before falling off it and onto the cold street. The car sped off and blood covered her entire body. Everything was just a blur. She couldn't see correctly.

Everything went black as she lost consciousness.


	4. Only For Me

_"What's more important? What we become, or how we become it?_  
_-Lucas Scott_

**Chapter 4: Only For Me**

_Previously:_

_While Nathan fell asleep quickly, Haley couldn't bring herself to sleep. She was still so upset about what Lucas said to her. She knew he didn't mean it- of course he didn't. But it still hurt like hell. She looked over at Nathan who was sleeping peacefully. She watched his chest rise up and down. She sighed, knowing she would not be able to sleep tonight, and got out of bed. She opened the front door, still in her pajamas and a pair of flip flops, and started walking down the sideways, hoping to get some fresh air. She just needed to breathe and let everything truly sink in._

_She continued to walk for about ten minutes and then checked her phone for the time._

_11:57 PM_

_She sighed. She hadn't gone very far from Nathan's house, but she better get back before Nathan realized she was missing. She started walking back and slowly walked across the street, not looking where she was going. Before she knew what was happening, she heard the screech of a car and saw bright lights. The car honked, but before she could move, she felt the impact of the car hit her like a bullet. She slid up the car hood before falling off it and onto the cold street. The car sped off and blood covered her entire body. Everything was just a blur. She couldn't see correctly._

_Everything went black as she lost consciousness._

Lucas woke up from his sleep around the same time Haley did. He couldn't sleep much because the guilt from yelling at Haley was basically eating him alive. He felt so bad. He didn't mean what he said to her. He just didn't want her to throw her life way for some boy that he didn't even like, even if he was his half-brother.

Lucas was about to call Brooke to help him fall asleep again since her voice was always so soothing to him, but he decided against it when he realized that she was probably really tired right now and she herself was sleeping at this very moment. Lucas finally decided to go outside for a little to get a breath of fresh air in an attempt to fall asleep. He got up, grabbed a pair of sneakers from his closet and his 'Keith Scott Body Shop' hoddie, and then opened the front door quietly, hoping that he wouldn't wake up Keith or his mother.

Lucas began walking up the street, blowing out soft breaths. It was still warm outside, but it was dark and he couldn't see much, despite the fact that it was the dead middle of summer. He glanced at his watch.

12:03 AM

Thought it was barely past midnight, Lucas still wasn't tired enough to go back to sleep, so he continued walking for twenty more minutes. To his left, he could see Nathan's house with all the lights turned off. He figured Nathan and Haley were peacefully sleeping in there. He'd never been to Nathan's house in fear of running into Dan, but his mother had shown him some pictures of their house when he was little and he had passed the house a couple of times when he was taking a jog or heading to the rivercourt with the guys.

Lucas walked past Nathan's house and walked up the steep hill, which took him longer than he had expected- six minutes exactly. As he reached the top of the hill, he noticed a dark, limp figure lying on the ground. Furrowing his eyebrows, he rushed over to see who it was and see what the hell the person was doing lying on the ground at midnight.

As Lucas reached the person, he could feel his stomach drop and his heartbeat quicken dramatically. His hands shaking, he reached for his cellphone in the pocket of his hoddie. He quickly dialed 911 as he could feel his eyes brimming with salty, warm tears.

_"911, what's your emergency?"_ a woman's voice said through the phone.

"I need, I need help, please," Lucas breathed out.

_"What happened, sir?_" the woman asked.

"My best, my, uh, best friend, she's lying on the g-ground in front of me, I, I think she got hit or something. Please, you h-have to help me. She's gonna die if you don't help her, she's gonna die, she's gonna, she, I-"

_"Sir, you need to calm down-"_

"Don't tell me to calm down! I need your help! My best friend is lying here unconscious because some damn driver hit her! Please! Send your ambulance or paramedics or whatever now or I'll run over to your hospital and beat the crap out of your workers for not helping my best friend!" Lucas yelled into the phone.

_"Please, sir, I need you to calm down, okay? Your best friend will be okay. Where are you?"_ the woman asked calmly.

"I'm, I'm on the hill of Ellington Street in Tree Hill. Please, help her, please-"

"_We'll send an ambulance right away, sir. Have a good night,"_ the lady said and then hung up the phone.

"Haley, you're gonna be alright, okay? I'm gonna get you to the hospital and you'll be okay. I'll call Nathan or Brooke or Peyton, or whoever you need. I just need you to live, okay? I'm sorry about what I said. I need you, Haley. You can't leave me. You can't leave us," Lucas cried into Haley's limp shoulder.

After what seemed to be hours, loud ambulance trucks came barreling down the streets, the sirens going off, the loud police sirens following them. Lucas stood up as Haley's hand fell out of his. He wiped the blood off his hand onto his pajama pants and then waved his hands over at the trucks to signal them to come over where he and Haley were.

The next couple of minutes seemed like seconds; everything seemed to go way too quickly in a spinning blur. Haley was lifted onto a stretcher and Lucas quickly got into the back of the ambulance. The paramedics had questioned him about his relationship with Haley, but he quickly assured them that he was only her best friend and that she was already engaged to another man- his brother. That was really the first time Lucas actually referred to Nathan as his brother. Before that, he had just referred to him as Nathan, jackass, Mr. Big Shot, or whatever he and Haley came up with.

The ambulance made a screeching halt as they arrived at the cold hospital building. Lucas hated hospitals and so did Haley. The only thing it reminded him of was death, something that always made him break down. He jumped out of the ambulance and then helped the paramedics with the stretcher while tears started to brim his eyes again. How could this happen to Haley? How could this happen to his best friend? She didn't deserve this. No one did.

"Mr. Scott, I'm going to need information about Haley James," a lady told him, who had come up to him after Haley was wheeled into the emergency room. He was currently sitting in the waiting room, about to call Brooke about the accident. He looked up to see a middle aged brunette who was wearing a nurse's shirt and had tired but warm green eyes.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, putting his phone in his pocket. He could call Brooke after this.

"Full name?" the lady asked. Lucas looked at her name tag to see '_Mrs. Karlie Dylan'_ printed neatly across it.

"Haley Bob James," Lucas answered. "Well, soon to be Scott," he added, remembering her engagement.

"What do you mean?" Karlie asked, writing something down on her clipboard.

"She's engaged-"

"To you?" Karlie assumed.

"What? Huh?" Lucas asked, confused, letting out a breathy chuckle. He could never picture himself marrying Haley. They were like brother and sister. When he wanted to get married in the future, he always pictured it being Brooke. He always pictured Brooke Davis becoming Brooke Scott for them to be a happy family with many children.

"She's going to become Haley James Scott, right?" Karlie clarified. Lucas nodded. "Your last name is Scott. I just thought it was you she was going to marry."

Lucas laughed. "No, no. She and I are just friends. We would never get together- it'd be weird because we're like family. She's engaged to my brother."

Karlie smiled widely. "So she's soon to be your sister in law, huh?"

"Yeah," Lucas said.

"Age?"

"Sixteen."

"Year of birth?" Karlie asked.

"1987," said Lucas.

"Color of hair?" Karlie continued.

"Blonde," Lucas answered.

"Eye color?"

"Brown."

"Height?"

"Five foot four."

"Weight?"

"I honestly have no idea. I don't really ask her that kind of stuff," Lucas laughed. Karlie smiled and wrote something down.

"Parents?"

"Lydia and Jimmy James."

"Any siblings she has?"

"You need the full names?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, I do, for the paperwork," Karlie clarified.

"And ages?"

"Yes."

"Eli Christopher James is Haley's oldest brother, born in 1976, age 27, with brown hair and brown eyes. He's married to Emily James with sons Ethan, Evan, and Eric," Lucas recited by memory. He knew every single one of Haley's siblings because they were always at home when he and Haley were younger.

"Okay," Karlie mumbled, scribbling down everything on the clipboard.

"Matthew Carter James, nicknamed Matt, is Haley's second oldest brother, born in 1977, age 26, with light brown hair and green eyes. He's married to Solaris James with sons Seth and Marc and daughter Avery," Lucas continued on.

"Mhm," Karlie said.

"Robert Bryson James, nicknamed Rob, is Haley's third oldest brother, born in 1979, age 24, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He's married to Christine James with sons Dylan, Landon, and Caleb."

"Okay, okay, good."

"Vivian Maia James is Haley's older sister, born in 1981, age 22, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. She's married to Bill Samuel with triplets- sons Joshua and William and daughter Sophia."

"Good, good, alright."

"Taylor Blake James is Haley's second older sister, born in 1983, age 20, with dirty blond hair and green eyes. I honestly have no idea who she's dating because she doesn't stick with anybody for too long," Lucas said.

"She has a lot of siblings," Karlie commented.

"Quinn Alexandra James is Haley's third older sister, born in 1985, age 18, with blonde hair and green eyes. She's dating Clay Evans, an agent, but she has no kids," Lucas finished.

"Is that it?" Karlie asked.

"Yes," Lucas nodded.

"You sure know _everything _about her siblings. You sure you two aren't together?" Karlie teased.

Lucas laughed slightly again. "We would never…she and I…that'd be weird for us. We're just friends."

"I know, I'm just playing. Okay, anyone we should be in contact with during this time?" Karlie asked.

"Well, her siblings, her parents, and her friends, but I can take care of her friends," Lucas told the nurse.

"Who are her friends?" Karlie asked, ripping a page out of a notebook.

"Brooke Davis, Peyton Sawyer, Jake Jagielski, and her fiancée, Nathan Scott, are her closest friends," Lucas answered.

"And you, right?"

"Yeah. I can call her friends," Lucas said again.

"Okay, sure. We'll be back with more information about Haley as it comes," Karlie promised him.

He nodded. "Thank you."

The nurse left Lucas sitting in the waiting room. As soon as she went through those white double doors, Lucas pulled out his cellphone again and quickly dialed Brooke's number.

"Come on, come on," Lucas prayed for her to pick up.

After three rings, Brooke finally picked up.

"_Hello?"_ Brooke's tired voice greeted Lucas.

"Brooke, Brooke, I'm glad you picked up," Lucas said into the phone.

_"Luke, it's almost one o'clock in the morning. Why are you up so late? What's wrong?"_ Brooke asked.

"There's an emergency," Lucas replied.

Brooke sat up from her bed and put her hand in her hair. "_What happened?"_ She turned the lamp on in her room.

"It's Haley, Brooke, I…" Lucas trailed off.

_"Luke, you're being vague. What happened? Where are you?"_ Brooke asked. She got out of bed and slipped on Lucas's sweatshirt that he had lent her. She was only in a pair of shorts and his Ravens t-shirt, so she figured she'd put a little more on if she had to go somewhere. And it sounded like she did.

"I'm at the hospital," Lucas responded.

Brooke widened her eyes and grabbed her car keys from her desk. She slipped on a pair of flip flops and was half out the front door when she asked him, "_what happened to Haley?"_

"She got hit by a car and I-"

_"She got hit?"_ Brooke interrupted him worriedly.

"Yeah, I found her on the street. She's unconscious n-now and I don't know what to do, Brooke. She's c-can't die. I, I can't, I cannot loose her," Lucas cried.

"_You won't loose her, Luke, okay? I'm on my way. I'll be there in a few minutes. Did you call Nathan yet? _Brooke asked her boyfriend.

Lucas eyes widened slightly. "Nathan," he breathed out. "I completely forgot to call him."

_"You need to call him, Lucas. He's Haley's fiancée. I know you probably hate him right now about what happened earlier tonight- his and Haley's engagement- but you need to call him,"_ Brooke told him.

"I know, I know. I'll call him now," Lucas promised.

_"Okay. I'll be there soon. I love you,"_ she smiled, glad she could finally say it to him.

"I love you, too."

Lucas hung up the phone and prayed that Brooke would come quickly. He then pulled out his phone and dialed Nathan's number. Despite the fact that he and Nathan had a rocky relationship, he got Nathan's number after Nathan and Haley started dating just in case there was an emergency like this one.

It didn't take Nathan long to answer the phone- he picked it up almost immediately after Lucas dialed his number.

"_Lucas?"_ Nathan's panicked voice answered.

"Nathan, I have to tell you-"

_"Not now. Do you know where Haley is? She was sleeping right next to me and now she's not here. I swear, I know I don't like you and I know I'm going to kick your dumb ass for making Haley cry later on, but do you know where she is?" _Nathan rambled on.

"I know where she is-"

_"Where? Where is she?"_ Nathan interrupted him.

"I need you to come to hospital, Nathan. Now," Lucas rushed out.

Nathan's eyes widened and he grabbed his letterman jacket and slipped on a pair of sneakers. "_What happened to Haley? Is she okay?" _Nathan asked, running out the door, his car keys in his hand.

"No, she's not okay…she uh, she's unconscious," Lucas explained, his hand on his forehead.

"_Why? What the hell happened, Lucas?" _Nathan shouted through the phone, speeding through the dark, empty streets of Tree Hill.

"She got hit…by some car…and the police don't know who it was, but they're trying Nathan," Lucas said. Lucas could've sworn he heard a muffled sob through the phone.

"_Damn it," _Nathan swore. "_I'll be right there, Lucas. Keep an eye out for Haley. You know she doesn't deserve this."_

"I will," Lucas promised and then hung up the phone.

Just then, Lucas looked over as he heard the hospital door swing open. He chuckled slightly for the first time tonight as he saw his girlfriend rushing through the hospital hall holding a giant duffle bag and a huge basket filled with makeup accessories. Oh Brooke. He rushed over to her to help her.

"Woah, woah, Brooke. What's with all the stuff?" Lucas asked, grabbing her duffle bag and carrying it to the chairs in the waiting room.

"I need to keep an eye out for Haley twenty-four-seven, so these are the things I _need_ for a couple of days. I'll survive on hospital food if it means being here for Haley," Brooke said, setting her basket on a chair.

"But what is in this bag?" Lucas asked referring to the duffle bag.

"Clothes, shoes, hair products, hair accessories, body products, magazines, extra makeup, my computer, music, nail polish, facial treatment necessities, and so on," Brooke listed.

"Did you bring anything for me?" Lucas asked, opening up the bag.

"Yep. I got you clothes, sneakers, a sports magazine, and…" Brooke trailed off, pulling something out of her bag. "A book by Steinbeck. Since you love him."

Lucas smiled. "You're the best. Now all we have to do is pray for Haley."

They sat down on the chairs and Brooke rested her head on Lucas's shoulder. As she began to fall asleep again, her eyes shot open as she heard loud footsteps and the sound of heavy, rapid, short breathing.

"We got here as soon as we got your message, Brooke," Jake said, clearly out of breath.

"Is Haley okay? Where is she?" Peyton followed up.

"Haley's not okay. She's in a coma and they don't know when she'll wake up. They won't let us see her yet. She's in critical condition. I think she's getting surgery," Lucas explained.

"How're you doing about this, B. Davis?" Peyton asked, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"It's just, she doesn't deserve this, you know. Nobody does- especially not Haley. She's a good person. And it just sucks how bad things happen to good people. Why can't good things happen to good people? Haley has been hurt so many times. She doesn't need to be hurt even more. And what if she doesn't make it? I don't know how I'd go on living life without her," Brooke cried.

"She'll make it, Brooke. I can promise you that. She's a fighter. She'll fight through this. She wouldn't leave us, and most importantly, she wouldn't leave Nathan and her engagement. She wouldn't do that to us, because I know that she'll fight for us. She isn't ready to leave this world yet. It isn't her time," Lucas said, kissing Brooke's forehead.

"Where's Nathan?" Jake asked, looking around.

"I'm here!" Nathan shouted through the halls, running up to them, panting, clearly out of breath. "Where's Haley? I need to see her."

"They won't let us see her yet. We're not allowed to," Lucas explained for the third time.

"Damn it, no. No, they'll let me see her. I have to see her. I need to see Haley," Nathan demanded and then ran up to the front desk.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but what room is Haley James in?" he said, looking at the woman's name tag. "Mrs. Karlie Dylan," Nathan addressed the nurse.

"You can just call me Karlie," the nurse chuckled. "I'm sorry, sir, but only immediate family members can see Miss James. She just got out of surgery and she's in critical condition."

"Well, I'm her…" Nathan trailed off and then smirked, coming up with something. "Younger brother," Nathan lied. Nathan knew Haley didn't have a younger brother- that she was already the youngest- but he figured the nurse didn't know that.

"Not going to work, sir," Karlie laughed. Nathan looked at her with confusion.

"What?"

"I already know all of Haley siblings. She has three older brothers- Eli, Matt, and Rob, and three older sisters- Vivian, Taylor, and Quinn, but no younger siblings. Nice try, though," Karlie laughed again.

"How'd you know about Haley's siblings?" Nathan asked, putting his hand on the back of his neck in slight embarrassment.

"That young man," Karlie said, pointing towards the chairs. "Sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, gray hoddie, over there, told me all about Miss James and her family. Uh, Mr. Lucas Scott, was his name," Karlie said, now pointing directly to Lucas.

Nathan was going to have to kick Lucas's ass for that too. Now how was he supposed to see Haley? He needed to see her. He had to make sure that his future wife was going to be okay and that she would live. He needed her to live, because he couldn't live without her.

"Ma'am, I need to see Haley. Please, can you just let _me _see her?" Nathan pleaded her.

"What is your relationship with Miss James?" Karlie sighed.

"I'm her fiancée," Nathan stated.

Karlie looked up at him. "So you're Mr. Nathan Scott, huh?"

Nathan looked at her with confusion. "How'd you know who I was?"

"The same young man who told me about Haley's siblings, told me about you as well," Karlie explained.

"Lucas told you about me?" Nathan asked, surprised. Lucas never talked about him. Well, in Lucas's defense, Nathan never talked about Lucas either.

"Yes, he did, sir," Karlie answered. Nathan smiled slightly. Now that he and Haley were getting married, he was finally warming up to the idea of actually getting along with Lucas, just for Haley's sake.

"Are you sure I can't see my fiancée? I need to know that she's okay," Nathan said.

"Miss James is in good hands," Karlie assured him. "I will give you more information as it comes."

Nathan sighed and nodded, knowing the nurse wouldn't give in. "Okay. Thanks."

Nathan went over to sit with Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Jake. Brooke had her eyes closed as her head was resting on Lucas's shoulder who was on the phone with someone. Jake was looking at one of the hospital magazines while Peyton was drawing a picture of herself, Haley, and Brooke.

"What'd the nurse say?" Jake asked, lowering the magazine.

Nathan sighed again for what felt to be the hundredth time this night. "She said we have to wait until more information comes or something like that kind of crap. This is so stupid. I don't want to wait, I want to know now if Haley's going to live."

"She'll live man. I can promise you that," Jake reassured him.

"I hope so."

* * *

Nathan fell asleep after half an hour of waiting for information about Haley's status. Karlie said that all she knew was Haley was in 'critical condition' and she couldn't have any visitors or whatever. Nathan knew better than to fight with the nurse, so he sat back down and figured he sleep while he waited. Besides, it was already two in the morning.

As Nathan fell asleep, pictures of him and Haley kept flashing in his head, those same pictures dancing in his mind, replaying over and over again. He couldn't get Haley out of his mind. She was like an addiction- he couldn't stop thinking about her and them.

_Flashback:_

_"It's just that..." he sighed and put a hand on his head. "Ever since I was a kid, my father's been pushing me to play basketball. And I was fine with it, because I did take an early interest in basketball. But when I got older, it was like I was living his dream. He would pressure me into doing this, constantly telling that I wasn't good enough- that I would never be as good as him. He expects me to be something that I'm not, you know. His dream is for me to go to Duke, go to the NBA, and then marry some hot chick with money. Sure, I'm interested in Duke. And sure I want to one day make it to the NBA because I have dreams too. But he will not plan my future for me, you know? I don't want to marry some blonde bimbo or whatever. The old me would settle with that. But I want to fall in love. Have a family. Share my dreams with the perfect woman."_

_"You want to marry the perfect woman, huh?" she asked. He nodded._

_"Like who?" she asked. He looked into his doe brown eyes. He realized what he wanted. What he wanted, or who she wanted, was her. She was everything he wanted. She was the one who made him change. He had fallen in love with her the moment he laid eyes on her. Suddenly, he wasn't that ass who broke girls' hearts. He was the vulnerable boy who had dreams. He was the boy who wanted love. But he wasn't a boy. He was a man. And he was a man who wanted to treat a beautiful woman like her right._

_"You." Haley widened her eyes. What?_

_"Nathan-"_

_Before she could say anymore, Nathan leaned in and kissed her tenderly. She didn't move- she was too much in shock. She, Haley Bob James, was kissing the Nathan Scott. Mr. Popularity. The boy who was the first one to let her in. He broke the kiss and looked into her deep brown eyes._

_End of Flashback_

Their first kiss was amazing, even if Haley did run off. He didn't care that she did. He knew that he scared her. He was just glad that she had agreed to date him, because she was the best thing that ever happened to him. He was full on head-over-heels in love with her and he always would be.

_Flashback:_

_"Tell me you didn't feel anything when I kissed you. Tell me that you don't feel the same way that I do," he demanded. "Look right into my eyes and tell me you would rather die than be with me." She looked down._

_"I can't do that, Nathan," she mumbled._

_"So you like me?" he cracked a small smile._

_"I told you, Nathan. I care about you, I do. But what we have or what we could have is not simple at all. It could ruin everything between me and Lucas."_

_"If he was really your best friend, Haley, then he would trust you to do the right thing. He would accept you no matter who you date. Be with me, Haley. Just be with me and I'll do everything I can to make you happy. I just, I've never felt like this, but right now, the only thing on my mind is you. I just, please, I-"_

_Haley crashed her lips onto his. He instantly kissed back and wrapped one arm around her waist and he brought his other hand to her face. She ran her fingers through his dark hair as he caressed her face. After a few moments, she pulled back and looked into his blue eyes that she couldn't resist._

_"You're right. If Lucas was really my best friend, he would accept us. I guess I've just been trying to deny the feelings that I had for you all this time. But, I'm willing to give us a shot, because you make me feel happy and brave and special and the only girl in the world," she smiled. "I just, I'm scared to be with someone again, after what happened with Chase."_

_"I'm not Chase, Haley," Nathan assured her. "I'm nothing like him. I would never leave you. And I would most definitely never date any of your sisters… for many reasons," he joked._

_"Well, Vivian is married and Quinn is dating someone, so I don't think you'd have a chance with them anyways. And I don't think you'd want to date Taylor," Haley laughed._

_"Definitely not," Nathan chuckled. They sat there in a comfortable silence._

_"So we going to do this?" Nathan asked, breaking the silence._

_"Do what?"_

_"Is there going to be in us?" Nathan asked her._

_"Definitely."_

_End of Flashback_

And when they did get together, Nathan couldn't be happier. It was the day he realized who the world wanted him to be. He was supposed to be this loving, ambitious, caring man. He wasn't supposed to be a jackass who partied all the time. That was the old him, the boy who was hiding in someone else's body. Haley made him come out of that shell and build a new one- a real one this time.

_Flashback:_

_"I love you," he whispered. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it just came out. And he knew that he loved her for a while now. She jerked up._

_"What?" she asked surprised. Nathan loved her? This took a turn on the road._

_He sat up as well. "I fell for you the moment I met you," he revealed. "Everything about you is amazing. I don't see how people cannot fall in love with you instantly. You have changed my entire world, Haley James, and I love you so much for it. I've never felt like this before, but what I know is that I cannot be without you and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. I want to be the man who is with you when all your dreams come true, because I love you more than anything or anyone," he confessed. She sat there shocked. Never would she think that Nathan would fall in love, especially with her._

_"I don't know what to say."_

_"You don't have to say anything. You don't have to say you love me back. I just wanted to let you know how I feel."_

_They sat there in a silence. Nathan hadn't meant to blurt it out, but it happened and now it was out there. He couldn't take it back, but he didn't want to. It was okay that Haley didn't say it back. He just wanted to tell her how he felt and hope that in time, she would love him too._

_"I love you, too," she whispered, breaking the silence._

_"What?"_

_"I love you too. I love that you open up to me. I love how you let me in all the way. I love how no one gets you the way that I do. And I love the way you look at me and the way you protect me from all the danger that surrounds us. I just love you too," she told him._

_He smiled widely. His girl loved him back. Haley James, the most amazing girl in the world, loved him back. And nothing would change that. He kissed her tenderly and they lay in each other's arms, enjoying each other's presence._

_End of Flashback_

Nathan didn't believe in fairytales, but this was reality and his reality was a dream come true. He was so lucky to have Haley in his life. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

_Flashback:_

_"I, uh, I grew up hiding myself behind a mask because nobody would let me show who I really was. Dan was the main reason for that, but there were other components. The only person who really did encourage me to break down the exterior was my mom. But I couldn't always rely on her because she had her own problems. Dan was her main problem. She was constantly standing in his shadow, just like I was. I've never had a good relationship with Dan, and I don't think I ever will have a good relationship with him. Freshman and sophomore year were hard, because I had to continue hiding behind that mask. I don't really care much about Tim or any of those other guys who only focus on sex and booze. But I had to go along with it because, in high school, I couldn't take the mask off. Then I met you, and my whole world changed in the best way possible. You are the first person who let me in and allowed me to open up. You didn't care that I was the basketball star- you wanted to help me, and I think asking you to be my tutor was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it brought us here. I don't have to hide anymore, because I have someone to rely on when life gets hard and things change. But the one thing that will not change is my strong love for you. That will never alter. Haley, when I look into your eyes, my love for you only grows and I see the rest of my life with you. You are my everything, and you always will be. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I've never felt this way. I don't know what I'd do without you, which is why I want to be with you forever. I love you so much, more than words can say. And I know people say that we're too young and our whole relationship is fake and cliché. Well, I don't feel that way," he said. He pulled the box out of his pocket and got down on one knee._

_"Haley James, from the day I met you, I've dreamed of you one day becoming Haley James Scott. That desire has only grown as I fall more and more in love with you everyday." He opened the box to reveal a beautiful, yet simple, diamond ring that Deb helped him buy. They had both pitched in to buy the expensive ring (and they might've used Dan's credit card as well)._

_"You and I belong together forever. Always and forever. Will you marry me?" he asked._

_By now, tears were spilling freely out of Haley's eyes. She didn't know what to say. She hadn't seen this coming at all. They were so young, but they were also so in love. And she knew that she couldn't imagine life without him. She could see a future with him down the road, and that's what she wanted. So why couldn't forever start today?_

_"Yes," she cried with tears of joy. His smile on his face widened and he slipped the ring on her finger. Happy tears were brimming in eyes. Haley was going to be his wife. His life couldn't be more perfect. He stood up and kissed her with passion, joy, and love._

_"I love you so much, Haley," he promised._

_"I love you too, Nathan Scott."_

_End of Flashback_

Nathan was woken up by a person shaking him roughly. His eyes snapped open and he looked up to see Lucas.

"What the hell do you want?" Nathan asked angrily. He didn't mean to be so harsh, but Lucas just woke him up from his dream of him and Haley together. He wanted to continue dreaming about Haley before she woke up.

"The nurse said we could see Haley now," Lucas informed him calmly, ignoring Nathan's anger. He knew Nathan was going through a hard time right now like the rest of them, so he didn't want to push it with him.

Nathan nodded and rushed to Haley's room, opening the door quickly. Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, and Jake followed behind him, shutting the door behind them softly.

Haley looked awful; no sugar coating there. Cuts and blood still stained her face, her head was wrapped in gauze, her leg was in a cast, and her eyes were swollen on her pale, white face. Nathan rushed over to Haley and put his hand over her limp one.

"No, no, no, Haley, you have to wake up. You have to wake up because I'm living in a nightmare right now. You have to fight, please, for me…for us," Nathan cried. Nathan felt a small hand on his back and looked over to see Brooke. He smiled slightly and put his head in Haley's shoulder.

"Please, come back to me, Haley. Please, please, you have to."

* * *

**_August 19, 2003_**

It had been two days already and Haley had made no progress with her health. The doctors didn't have any signs as to when she would wake up or _if _she would wake up. Nathan wasn't loosing hope- he stayed strong and hopeful for Haley- but he was getting worried.

"Mr. Scott?" a police officer asked him. Nathan was currently sitting in Haley's hospital room, his hand in hers, and his head resting on their joint hands.

"Yes, officer?" he asked, standing up, still keeping their fingers interlaced.

"It seems as though we have figured out who the driver was that hit Miss James," the officer said.

Nathan nodded. "Well who is it?"

"It seems as though the driver was a minor and it is up to you if you want to press charges. He says he knows you pretty well. He's your age- sixteen exactly," the officer informed him.

"Who is it?" Nathan repeated himself.

"Mr. Damien West, I believe his name is. Attends Oak Lake Academy, captain of the basketball team…shaggy brown hair and hazel eyes, about six foot one…ring a bell, Mr. Scott?"

But Nathan wasn't listening to the officer after he had said 'Damien West.' It couldn't be him. It couldn't be. Damien, his basketball rival, a complete jackass, hit Haley? Damien was the cause of Haley's accident? Because Damien was drunk-off-his-ass, Haley could loose her life? No. This couldn't be true. Damien had already done so many things to anger Nathan. But this, this definitely crossed the line way to far.

"Mr. Scott?" the officer asked again, seeing Nathan was in a trance.

Nathan snapped his head and looked at the officer. "Huh?"

"Do you want to press charges against Mr. West?"

Nathan smirked slightly. "Press charges. Go all the way and put that jackass in jail. I don't care. He hit my beloved fiancée and now he's gonna pay the price. Big time."

* * *

"How's Haley doing?" Nathan asked Lucas for the thousandth time that day. It was later that afternoon after the officer told Nathan about Damien being the cause of Haley's possible death.

"Fine, Nathan. Stop asking. You ask every five seconds. She's still unconscious like five seconds ago," Lucas snapped.

"Well excuse me for being worried about my fiancée. Why does that bother you? Does it bother you that I'm engaged to your best friend?" Nathan taunted slightly. He couldn't help himself. Lucas was the cause for Haley's tears two nights ago and Nathan knew sure as hell that he had to kick Lucas's ass for that.

"Shut up, Nathan," Lucas said. He didn't have time for this.

"You know, you're a pretty bad best friend for making Haley cry," Nathan continued on, ignoring Lucas's request.

"I said shut up," Lucas demanded again. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"But I do," Nathan seethed. "You, you superhero best friend, made my fiancée cry by yelling at her. Now who does that make you? You wanna call yourself her your best friend? Dude, you call me a jackass? Look in the mirror and see the guy who's staring back at you. Because he's not the guy who deserves to be friends with Haley."

"Damn it, Nathan, don't you think I know that?" Lucas sighed, turning towards Nathan. "I feel so guilty about this whole thing. I feel bad about yelling at Haley and making her cry. I feel guilty because somehow, I feel responsible for this whole accident."

"Why?" Nathan asked Lucas.

"If I hadn't made Haley cry, we would still be friends and I could've protected her from this," Lucas started to explain.

"Even if you guys were still friends, you couldn't have protected her from this. You were sleeping. You didn't know this would happen. This isn't your fault," Nathan said sympathetically. He could feel where Lucas was coming from. He felt partially responsible for this too.

"Yeah, but if I never made her cry, she might've never gone out walking on the streets in the middle of the night. I could've prevented this by not yelling at her. And, and n-now she could die because I made her go out on the street. I'm the cause o-of all this," Lucas cried.

"You're not the cause of this, Luke. You're not. This is Damien's fault. It's not yours," Nathan comforted his brother.

"Why are you being so…not an ass to me?" Lucas asked.

Nathan sighed. "Two reasons. One, I know where you're coming from. I feel responsible for this too partially. I should've realized that Haley had gotten out of bed. I should've stopped her from going out. Because if I did, she would've never gotten hit. This would've never happened and we wouldn't be sitting in the hospital praying for her to live the live she was always meant to live."

"What's the second reason?" Lucas asked. For once, he could see where Haley was coming from about this whole, Nathan not being a jerk thing. He actually seemed…sincere and promising, something he hoped his little brother would be.

"Man, I don't want to fight with you. Look where it's got us. It got Haley hurt. That's the worst thing possible. She has to be in the middle of us, constantly going back and forth and back and forth. Do you want that for her? Do you want her to feel like she has to take both sides because we can't be on the same one? I just realized how selfish that is of me and of you. I mean, don't you think we should just try to act like brothers for her sake? I don't want to fight with you, Luke. Like I told you millions of times; Haley has changed me. She has. I'm not that jackass anymore. I can promise you that," Nathan finished.

Lucas sat there and thought about what Nathan just said. Had Nathan really changed? According to Haley, he did. And he could trust Haley, but what if it was all just an act? What if Haley was just lying to herself and him. He couldn't risk that. But Nathan did seem sincere, and what Nathan said was all true. He couldn't be selfish. Not after all Haley had been through these last couple of days.

"Truce, man?" Nathan asked, extending his hand towards Lucas.

"Truce, little brother," Lucas said. They shook hands and Nathan smiled slightly. Now he didn't have to be worried about Haley jumping back and forth. She could finally be on one side with the both of them.

"Guys!" Brooke exclaimed, running through the empty hallway.

"What's up?" Lucas asked his girlfriend.

"Haley's awake."

* * *

Nathan rushed in to see Haley lying in her bed with her eyes open. Her skin was still pale, her eyes were tired looking, and she didn't look well…yet she still looked beautiful to him.

"Hi," he greeted her with a small chuckle.

"Hi," she greeted back, sending him her gorgeous smile. He smiled back at that.

"I'm so glad you're awake," he said, moving closer towards her.

"Well, I wasn't ready to leave you yet," she teased a bit. "Besides, you can't cook, so would I really leave you to make awful food by yourself."

He laughed. Even at a time like this, she still had a sense of humor. That was one of the millions of reasons why he loved her.

"How're you feeling? Are you okay?," he asked her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she answered.

"No, you can't be fine, Haley. The doctor said your right lung almost collapsed, you had internal bleeding, you have some broken ribs, a broken leg, a concussion…and you have blood everywhere which really doesn't help your argument," he chuckled slightly.

"I know, but they gave me pain medication and I'm feeling better. I just need rest and I have to stay off my feet for a little bit," she said. He nodded and kissed her for the first time in what felt like years. Behind him, he heard someone clear their throat. Nathan looked behind him to see Karlie holding a clipboard.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scott, but I need to run some tests on Miss James and I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room for a second. When I'm done, you may come back in," Karlie told him.

He sighed and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'm leaving."

As soon as Nathan left the room after kissing Haley's forehead, Karlie sat down on one of the chairs to run the tests.

"Okay, your blood pressure looks fine, your heart beat is normal, you're breathing properly which is good considering your lung almost collapsed. I think you'll be fine, Miss James. I just need to run one more test on your stomach, as I see something," Karlie said, running the test.

Haley sat up a little. "What do you mean?"

Karlie shook her head. "Hold on, hold on, Miss James."

Haley sighed. "Is there anything wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong…I just see something..." Karlie trailed off.

"What?" Haley asked again.

"Oh, I see, I see. Let me look at the test results…Okay, good, my assumptions were correct," Karlie smiled.

"What's going on?" Haley asked, so confused.

"Congratulations Miss James! You're pregnant," Karlie congratulated her.

And at that moment, Haley's world came crashing down. She couldn't be pregnant. She was a sixteen year old junior in high school. This would change everything. This would change her and Nathan's future completely. She couldn't be pregnant. She and Nathan hadn't even been dating that long and they had only gotten engaged a couple of days ago. There was no way this could happen to her.

"W-what?" she stuttered.

"You're pregnant. Lets see. Father is Nathan Scott…the baby was conceived on August 16, 2003 and today is August 19, 2003, so it's only a couple of days ago," Karlie informed her.

Haley realized her and Nathan's child was conceived the night they slept together after they got engaged. Great. She got pregnant the first time she ever slept with someone."But I can't be pregnant. I-I'm in high school, I can't, I-"

"You need to relax, Miss James. It's not good for your blood pressure right now. Listen. You're in a committed relationship now, right? Engaged to Nathan Scott, I believe?" Karlie asked.

"Yeah, but-"

"Then it's not like you'll be a _single _teenage mom. You have Nathan by your side. I know this is sudden and you didn't plan for it, but you need to understand that you are now pregnant and there is a living human being in you. And I think you're pretty lucky that you didn't loose the baby after the accident. I think you should be grateful about not loosing your and your fiancée's child," Karlie said.

Haley sighed. Karlie was right. This could've been a lot worse. She and Nathan could've split up or something and she would've had to take care of their child alone with only the help of her friends who were already busy enough with their high school lives. Or she could've lost the baby, like Karlie said, and that would've been devastating for her, even if this pregnancy was sudden.

She, Haley James, soon to be Scott, was pregnant. She and Nathan were pregnant. What was she going to do about this? When would she tell Nathan? How would he react about this?

Everything was about to change and Nathan didn't even know it yet.

Only she knew.


	5. We're Going For It All

**AN: Sorry it took so long to update- I've just been really busy these days. But Chapter 5 is finally here. I know that this is a Naley story, but this chapter also has a lot of Brucas as well, since I love them too. But don't worry, the story is still going to be mainly about Naley with Brucas and Jeyton as well. Also, I noticed that some of the reviews are dropping, so please try to review as it helps me write the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

_"It all just seems so fake. This idea that good things happen to good people and there's magic in the world and the meek and righteous will inherit it. There's too many good people who suffer for something like that to be true. There are too many prayers that get unanswered. Everyday we ignore how completely broken this world is. And we tell ourselves it's going all going to be okay- "you're going to be okay." But it's not okay. And once you know that, there's no going back. There's no magic in the world… at least not today there isn't."  
-Haley James Scott_

**Chapter 5: We're Going For It All**

**_August 23, 2003_**

_A few days later…_

"Are you okay, Hales?" Nathan asked.

"I'm fine, Nate. I told you. I'm feeling good today," Haley responded, smiling a bit.

Nathan and Haley were in Nathan's bedroom. It had been a couple of days since Haley was released from the hospital. The doctors said Haley was doing pretty well considering her condition.

"What do you want to do today?" Haley asked her fiancée. "Do you want to plan the wedding?"

Nathan shrugged. "Sure, I guess. But isn't that something you'd like to do with Brooke? You know, pick the flowers and dresses and food out and so on?"

"I want to plan the guest list with you. Oh, and we need to decide who's doing what, where we're going to have the wedding, and what the date is," Haley informed him.

"What do you mean who's doing what? Well, I'm the groom and you're the bride. Simple as that," Nathan joked.

"Nathan, I'm serious. We need your best man and my maid of honor," Haley explained.

"Okay, okay, well who do you want to be your maid of honor?" Nathan asked.

"I'm trying to decide. Brooke or Peyton?" Haley thought.

"I say Brooke," Nathan answered.

"How come?"

"Well, it's obvious you are just as close with Brooke as you are with Peyton, but I don't know. It just seems like you and Brooke have been through more together that you have with Peyton," Nathan said.

"How do you know?" Haley asked.

Nathan laughed. "C'mon, Hales. We're getting married. We love each other. I know _everything_ about you."

Haley smiled and looked at him teasingly. "Like what?"

"Like in the second grade when you and Brooke liked the same guy and you tossed a coin to see who got him," Nathan chuckled.

"Oh, I remember that. Finn Ackerson," Haley smiled.

"Yeah, but I'm better than him, right?" Nathan asked jealously.

"Of course," Haley answered. "Yeah, I guess Brooke and I have been through a lot. But is there any other reason why you want her to be my maid of honor?"

Nathan sighed. "When I asked her to distract you so I could ask your parents for permission to marry you, she said she would if she got to be your maid of honor."

Haley chuckled. "I see."

"I'm sorry, Hales. If you don't want her to be your maid of honor, I can just tell her," Nathan promised.

Haley laughed. "Well, lucky for you, I want Brooke to be the maid of honor. You're lucky, Mr. Scott."

Nathan smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too. We need to figure out who your best man is going to be now," Haley said.

"I don't know. A lot of my friends from school aren't really liking this whole, 'getting married at sixteen' thing," Nathan responded.

"Stupid jocks," Haley muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Haley smiled. Nathan laughed and shook his head in amusement.

"What about Tim?" Haley suggested.

"Nah. Tim's an airhead, first of all. Second, he's really annoying because he's not supportive of my relationship with you," Nathan explained.

Haley nodded. "Okay, then who?"

"Lucas?" Nathan suggested.

"Lucas?" Haley repeated. "I thought you hated him."

Nathan chuckled. "No, we actually decided to be friends while you were unconscious."

"Great. I'm out for a few days and I miss everything," Haley teased. "Lucas can be your best man if you want. Actually, he can be your best friend too. Because he and I aren't best friends until he apologizes."

Nathan sighed, remembering why Haley's crash occurred in the first place. It was because Haley was upset about Lucas. If Lucas never made her upset, she wouldn't have gone walking out in the middle of the night and gotten it by Damien West. He was mad at Lucas about that, but he figured Lucas already felt horrible about it, so he let it go.

"He'll apologize baby. I can promise you that," Nathan said.

"I hope so. Because I miss my best friend," Haley pouted.

Nathan laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Okay, so Brooke's gonna be your maid of honor and Lucas will be my best man. What else?" Nathan asked, wrapping is arm around Haley.

"We need a guest list. Once we figure that out, Brooke, Peyton, and I can make and send out invitations," Haley told him.

"Okay, so who are we inviting?" Nathan asked, grabbing a piece of paper.

"First, our parents," Haley said.

"So Lydia and Jimmy James, Dan and Deb Scott…how about Karen and Keith?" Nathan asked, pausing.

Haley nodded. "Of course. They're like family…well Keith is your uncle anyway."

"Who else?"

"Our friends, of course" Haley continued on.

"Lets see. Jake Jagielski, Peyton Sawyer, Lucas Scott, Brooke Davis, Mouth McFadden, Chase Adams, Junk Moretti, Fergie Thompson, Skills Taylor, Bevin Mirskey, Anna Taggaro, Tim Smith…who else?"

"Brooke has a friend, uh, Millie Huxtable, I think her name is. Brooke is also friends with Julian Baker and Alex Dupre, who I believe are a couple from the movie business. I don't know," Haley said.

"Okay, I'll put them down. The movie business, huh? How old are they?" Nathan asked, confused.

"They're a little older than us. I think they're in college or something," Haley answered. "Oh, and invite my friend, Mia Catalano. She would really like to be there."

"Will do. Who else?"

"All my siblings," Haley giggled.

"And their kids?" Nathan asked, an eyebrow raised.

Haley shook her head. "My siblings can get a babysitter."

"So Eli and Emily James, Matt and Solaris James, Robert and Christine James, Bill and Vivian Samuel, Taylor James, and Quinn James with Clay Evans," Nathan finished.

"I think that's pretty much it. If you think of other people, can you put them on the list?" Haley asked.

Nathan nodded. "Sure, babe."

"I know we're going to decide the location for the wedding, but can I suggest something?" Haley asked.

"Of course," Nathan smiled.

"So, I want to get married in the church where my parents got married. My brothers and Vivian got married there too, so I want to because it's kind of like a family tradition," Haley explained.

Nathan smiled. "That sounds perfect, Hales. We can get married there."

"Really?" Haley grinned.

"Yes, of course," Nathan smiled back.

"I love you. Have I told you lately what a great boyfriend you are?"

"Not lately, but I know," Nathan said.

"Well you are. I don't know what I'd do without you in my life," Haley smiled

Nathan laughed.

"What?" Haley asked confused. What was so funny about her telling him that she loved him?

"It's just," Nathan laughed again. "Like a month and a half ago, you hated me with all your heart, remember? And now, we're going to get married," Nathan pointed out.

"Yeah, I remember when I hated you."

_Flashback:_

_The doorbell rang. Haley furrowed her eyebrows. Who would be here? Peyton and Jake were already at the beach house, and Brooke and Lucas had left half an hour probably forgot her makeup bag,' Haley thought to herself. She ran downstairs and opened the door. There, she came face to face with the person she would least expect standing at her door._

_Nathan Scott._

_Haley knew who Nathan Scott was very well. Lucas Scott's half brother. The social king of Tree Hill High, from what she had heard. The arrogant, selfish ass who slept around with random girls. The heart breaker of Tree Hill. She had never met him, but it was what she assumed. She knew it wasn't right to judge him if she had never met him, but she had heard rumors and listened to them instead of what her mind was telling her. Besides, Lucas said he was a spoiled jerk who got everything he wanted from his father, Dan Scott. She knew Dan's story as well. Lucas had told her when they were ten._

_Dan Scott was the most popular student at Tree Hill High back in his days. He and his brother, Keith, both had a crush on the most beautiful girl in school: cheerleader and top student, Karen Roe. Like always, Dan got the girl and Keith was left behind. Karen and Dan fell in love during their young high schools years. Dan began to change- he wasn't the jerk he was before he met Karen. Karen had changed him. But she got pregnant and he quickly morphed back to the person that he used to be. He left her behind, while she was pregnant, to follow his college dreams instead. Karen had Lucas, and was helped out by Keith, who still had strong feelings for her, but never admitted it. Keith helped raise Lucas while Dan ran off to college to find another girl. Deb Lee. A beautiful, blonde woman who got pregnant with Dan's child as well. Nathan was born then. And unfortunately, instead of taking Deb's sweet, caring personality, Nathan took Dan's attitude. She didn't know what that attitude was- selfish like Dan or ambitious like Dan? Haley never wanted to know Nathan Scott and she hoped she never would. Yet, here, right now, he stood in front of her, his piercing blue eyes practically burning holes in her body. One of her hands rested on her hip while the other was on the door._

_"Hi," he greeted._

_"What do you want?" she asked, a bit harsher than she had intended. He raised an eyebrow at her attitude, but continued._

_"You're Haley James, right?" he asked._

_"Yes. Now I will repeat my question. What do you want?" she ran her hand through her honey blonde hair and then crossed her arms across her chest._

_"I, uh, I need a tutor…and I hear you're the best," he answered. She looked at him incredulously._

_"You want me to tutor you?"_

_"Yeah, I do," he said. She stood there, contemplating what she would do. Should she tutor him? Why would she? He was an ass. He didn't care about anything but a stupid basketball game. He hurt and humiliated Lucas since sophomore year when Lucas joined the Ravens. And here he was, asking Lucas's best friend to tutor him and help him out? Who did he think he was? She wasn't stupid- she knew what he was doing and she didn't like it._

_"Well?" he asked after a minute of silence._

_"Well what?" she asked, playing dumb._

_"Will you tutor me?"_

_"No." He raised both eyebrows._

_"What? Why not?"_

_"I know who you are. Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, scoring your touchdowns-"_

_"I don't even play football," he interrupted her, smirking. She shook her head._

_"Whatever. The point is, I know who you are and I won't tutor you. In case you didn't know, I'm best friends with Lucas," she informed him. He chuckled._

_"Well then, I'm sorry for you." She rolled her eyes._

_"Ha, ha, you think you're so funny," she said sarcastically. He sighed._

_"Look, this isn't a joke. I really need help. I'm basically failing and if I don't get my grades up, I'm gonna get kicked off the basketball team. My dad won't like that. Me and my dad don't get along," he said._

_"My dad and I," Haley corrected him._

_"What?" Nathan asked, confused._

_"You said 'me and my dad don't get along.' It's 'my dad and I don't get along.' You and your dad are the subject, thus making it 'I' instead of 'me.' 'Me' is only if you're using it for the direct or indirect object-"_

_"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," he interrupted her again._

_"I want you to leave, Nathan. Now," she demanded._

_"Whoa, hey. There's no need to be so pushy," he said._

_"I want you to leave. I am not tutoring you. Get that into your thick skull. You're an ass and I sure as hell won't tutor someone like you."_

_"Someone like me or me?" he asked. She rolled her eyes again._

_"You know the answer." With that, she slammed the door right on him. She could hear him swear underneath his breath before leaving the porch. She sighed heavily and slid down the front door._

_End of Flashback_

"Things change and people change. I misjudged you. I don't think I ever apologized for that," Haley sighed.

Nathan waved her off. "Don't worry about it, Hales. You had the right to misjudge me. I was a complete ass before. But you changed me for the better. You changed me forever and I can't thank you enough for that."

"Anything for you," Haley smiled.

"That was corny," a voice said from the doorway.

"And cheesy," another voice added. Haley looked up to see Brooke and Lucas standing at the door.

"Brooke? What are you doing here?" Haley asked, purposely not acknowledging Lucas, who noticed that and sighed.

"I'm here just because, but Lucas needs to do something," Brooke answered, pushing Lucas towards Haley.

"Anything you need to say to me, Luke?" Haley asked her friend.

"Can we talk in private, Hales?" Lucas asked.

Haley nodded. They sat there with Haley looking at her feet and Lucas looking at his hands.

"Aren't you guys going to talk?" Brooke asked, standing next to Nathan by the doorway. Nathan was smiling with his hand on the doorframe.

"I believe I said in private, Cheery," Lucas said, giving Brooke a look. Brooke quickly caught on.

"Come on, Nate. Why don't we, uh, go…talk to your mom?" Brooke suggested.

"What?" Nathan asked, confused, not catching on initially.

"We're going to talk to your mom," Brooke rushed out, and then pulled Nathan out of the room.

Lucas laughed. "Nathan is a piece of work."

"So is Brooke," Haley added on.

Lucas sighed and put his hand on Haley's knee. "I wanna talk about our argument before the accident."

"What about it?" Haley asked.

"C'mon, Haley, you know what I mean. I'm trying to apologize for my behavior. I should've never yelled at you," Lucas apologized.

"Luke, do you know how that made me feel? It made me feel like you didn't care that I was happy. Look, I understand that Nathan has hazed you all through our sophomore year. And I understand that he used to be a jackass. But you have to know that he really has changed for the better. He's not putting me through any kind of crap. He loves me. And I know that I used to hate him so much. But I can't apologize that I fell in love with Nathan, because I did. I didn't fall in love with the old Nathan, but with the new one. You know that I am a very cautious person and that I would never just make a big decision like this about my engagement to Nathan. But he and I love each other and we want to be together forever, so why not get married now? And if you can't accept that Nathan and I are getting married, then I don't know who you are and I don't know if this friendship can continue," Haley finished.

"Hales, I just want to know what made you fall in love with him. How'd you know he changed? I'm just looking out for you," Lucas said.

"The moment I fell in love with him was when he admitted that he made mistakes in the past and he wanted to change that. He had the ability to see that he wasn't the best person before. But more importantly, he was willing to change. I guess I didn't realize that I fell in love with him until later, but that was definitely the moment I fell in love with this selfless, caring person," Haley said.

"You know I'm just looking our for you Haley, right? That I would never want you to get hurt?" Lucas asked his best friend, finally coming to terms about Nathan.

"I know, Luke. But I think you're taking this whole 'best friend overprotective' thing a little too far. Look, I love you, Luke. You're a great best friend. But I need you to accept me and Nathan because, if you were really my best friend, you'd accept us because I'm happy and so his your _brother_," Haley said.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you and I'm sorry that I was too overprotective. But mostly, I'm sorry that it was my fault that you were hit by that car," Lucas apologized.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked, confused.

"Hales, we both know that if you never went outside during that night, you would've never gotten hit and your life would never had been on the line. You went outside because you were stressing out about me not accepting your engagement-"

"You don't know that," Haley interrupted.

"But I do. I'm your best friend and I know you. I never really got to apologize for being one of the causes for that accident."

"Lucas, it's not your fault. It was Damien's. He was the one who was driving drunk and he was the one who hit me. Now he's paying the price and you're not because you don't need to, as you're not the cause of the crash."

"You could've died, Haley. And I was one of the reasons why. I will forever feel guilty for that," Lucas said.

"Luke, I promise you that I'm not mad about that. Sure, I'm still upset about you yelling at me, but I could never blame you for the accident, okay?" Haley assured her best friend.

Lucas nodded slightly, only convinced a little. "And Hales, I am so sorry about yelling at you. I was just upset and my head wasn't straight. I promise, I'm happy for you and Nathan."

"I just need to know why you were so upset. Why weren't you initially happy for me and Nathan? Do really hate him that much? He's your brother and you know that," Haley said, putting her hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"Do you want me to be honest with you?" Lucas asked, looking at her.

"Always."

"I told Brooke this. I just, ever since we were kids, it was always you and me against the world- just the two of us. And then, Nathan comes along and changes everything. It's no longer you and me against the world, but it's you and him. I know this sounds kind of selfish, but I don't want to loose you from him."

Haley smiled. "You'll never loose me, Lucas. You're my best friend and you always will be. It's always been us and it still will be. I just, I'm in love and I want you to be happy for me. But you have to know that just because Nathan and I are married, doesn't mean that I will no longer be your best friend or I will spend all my time with him. There are things you and I do that Nathan and I don't. You and I go thrift store hunting, buy bad music...we go to the lost and found and get random stuff. That's something that you and I do as best friends. You don't have to hold on to me because I'm not letting go in the first place. I will always be here for you just like you've always been here for me. I'm not going anywhere," Haley promised, pulling Lucas in for a hug.

"I know and I'm sorry. I am happy for you, I promise. You and Nathan are going to be great as a married couple," Lucas said.

"Best friends?" Haley asked.

"Best friends," Lucas promised. "Forever."

Haley shook Lucas's hand playfully, but then heard a faint cheer and someone accidently banging onto the door. Haley rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Brooke, Nate, I know you're listening to us!" Haley chuckled. "Get your asses in here."

Brooke opened the door smiling while Nathan fell onto the floor since he was leaning against the door, trying to hear if his fiancée and his brother finally made up.

"Brooke," Haley smiled. "Any reason you were listening to us?"

"Hales, you know me. I'm the queen of gossip. I need to know if you and Luke made up," Brooke reasoned, smiling.

Haley rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh Brooke." She then turned to her fiancée. "What about you, Nate?" she asked, putting her hands on her waist, feigning anger.

Nathan looked at her worriedly, thinking she was pissed off. "Uh, I…well, I…you see Hales…"

"Yes?" Haley asked, now crossing her arms around her chest.

"It was," Nathan said, then pointed to Brooke, "it was Brooke's idea!" he accused her.

"What? Mine?" Brooke played along, knowing that Haley was just faking her anger.

"Babe, it wasn't my idea. It was all her," Nathan continued on.

Brooke and Haley exchanged glances and then burst out laughing.

Nathan looked at them, confused. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just joking, Nate. I'm not mad that you were eavesdropping. Lucas and I made up," Haley laughed.

Nathan blew out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were mad."

Haley laughed again. "I wouldn't be mad for such a little thing."

Nathan laughed along until he remembered he had to tell Lucas and Brooke something. "Babe, you wanna ask Lucas and Brooke if they'll be the maid of honor and best man?"

Haley smiled and nodded. "Brooke, Luke," she acknowledged them.

"Yeah?" Brooke asked, smiling as she witness Nathan and Haley's love. She was such a Naley fan.

Haley nudged Nathan to tell Lucas.

"Luke, you wanna be my best man?" Nathan asked.

Lucas looked at him. "Your best man?"

"Yeah. Look, I know we got off to a pretty sketchy start, but once I started dating Hales, everything changed and I think you know that I've changed. I'm sorry for hazing you during our sophomore year, but that won't happen again because I realized what a great guy you are and that you don't deserve to be hurt. I was wrong and Haley made me realize that. And now, I'm glad we're friends, and more importantly, brothers. So Haley and I would like for you to be my best man for the wedding."

Lucas was speechless. He knew Nathan had changed, but he was so glad that Nathan finally realized that was he was doing was wrong and that he was going to treat Lucas like a brother.

"Sure, man," Lucas answered.

Haley smiled. "Aw!"

Lucas and Nathan looked her like she was crazy.

"What?" Haley asked. "You guys are finally acting like brothers. That's so cute!"

Nathan laughed. "You're such a girl, Hales."

"I know. C'mon, hug it out," she said.

Nathan and Lucas looked at her like she was crazy again.

"What?" Lucas asked. "We're friends and brothers now, but I don't really think a hug is necessary."

"C'mon, Luke. It'll be cute!" Brooke said.

"Um," Lucas said, looking at Nathan who shrugged.

"Do it for me, babe," Haley said, pushing Nathan towards Lucas.

Nathan and Lucas awkwardly hugged before pulling away and spacing themselves.

"Thank you," Haley said, giving Nathan a quick peck as Brooke did the same to Lucas.

"Oh, Tigger. Do you want to be my maid of honor?" Haley asked Brooke.

"Of course, Tutor Girl!" Brooke shrieked. "This is going to be amazing! I'm going to help you pick out the bridesmaids dresses and the cake and the tuxes. Oh, and lets not forget the decorations. We should have mini banana pies at each table, those purple flowers you and Nate love from the beach. And the theme with be blue and purple since you hate pink. Oh and let's not forget to have the best reception with this DJ I know of-"

"Tigger, this all sounds great, but I think you're forgetting something," Haley interrupted Brooke, watching her ramble.

"What?" Brooke asked, confused. How did she forget something? She loved weddings. She was already planning her own even though it wasn't happening anytime soon.

"First of all, you can't forget to take a breath," Haley laughed. "Second, what about my wedding dress? Isn't that important?"

Brooke smiled. "I already made it."

Haley widened her eyes. "What do you mean? How did you make my dress already? You didn't know I was getting married until about a week ago."

"I've been designing and making it since you and Nathan started dating," Brooke said as if it was obvious.

"Why?" Haley asked, letting out a short and breathy laugh.

"I knew you and Nate were meant to be from the start. It was pretty clear that you loved him from the beginning."

"It was?" Haley asked, confused. Was it really that obvious that once she and Nathan started dating, she fell hard for him quickly?

"Yup. Everything is going to be perfect. You and Nathan are going to have your dream wedding!" Brooke squealed.

Nathan and Haley smiled and shared a kiss. Brooke was right. Everything was going to be perfect.

* * *

**_September 3, 2003_**

_One week, four days later..._

"Haley! Wake up!" a voice shouted from the other side of the door. Haley instantly recognized it as Brooke's voice. Haley put the pillow on top her head and groaned.

"Brooke. Go away. I'm tired," Haley muttered.

"It's the first day of school, Hales. You're supposed to be excited! You're Tutor Girl!" Brooke said from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be tired."

"Open up or I'm coming in!" Brooke demanded. Haley groaned, threw her sheets off her body, and opened the door where Brooke was smiling cheerfully. No wonder Lucas calls her 'Cheery.'

"Whoa, Tutor Girl. You've got a case of the bed head," Brooke said, walking in.

Haley threw her hand up dramatically. "Well excuse me, but I was trying to sleep. Why are you up so early anyway? You never get up at..." Haley looked at her phone for the time. "Brooke, it's six o'clock in the morning. School doesn't start until eight o'clock!"

"But we need to get you prepared. C'mon Haley. We're only gonna have one first day of school for the beginning of our junior year. We need to make it special!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Brooke, please, just five more minutes at least," Haley muttered, sitting back on her bed.

"No, we need to make you look good. As you can see, I've already spent an hour making myself look good, so now we need to make you look so hot that all the boys will stare and drool," Brooke said, pulling Haley off the bed.

"I think you're forgetting about the fact that I have a loving fiancée who I so happen to love back and would never cheat on," Haley reminded Brooke in a playful manner.

"Yeah, but there's nothing wrong with letting the boys drool and then breaking their hearts by telling them you're already taken," Brooke said, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Tigger-"

"I know, I know, you wouldn't do that. But you're gonna look hot for Nathan even if it takes two hours. Now c'mon, let's get going!" Brooke squealed.

Haley laughed and dragged herself to the bathroom. Oh Brooke.

An hour later, Brooke finally prepared Haley for the first day of school. Haley was wearing black skinny jeans with a purple, sleeveless blouse and black high-heeled boots. Brooke wanted to straighten Haley's hair as well, but Haley insisted on keep her natural blonde locks.

"It's seven o'clock, Brooke. I think we're done," Haley said.

Brooke sighed. "Okay, okay. We need to get to school early anyway so we can meet up with Jake, Peyton, Luke, and Nate."

"Good, so can we go now?" Haley said. "Oh, and can we stop at Karen's first? I'm starving since someone made me spend an hour on clothes and makeup," Haley said, staring directly at Brooke.

Brooke shrugged. "Oh well. At least you look hot!" she said, skipping out of the room.

Haley laughed. That was so Brooke.

* * *

"Why are we here so early?" Peyton complained. "It's seven thirty five. School doesn't start for another twenty five minutes."

"Relax, babe," Jake calmed her. "I'm sure Nathan, Lucas, Brooke, and Haley will be here soon. They said they'd be here at seven thirty. I don't know what is taking them so long."

"I bet Luke and Brooke are making out in the backseat of her car," Peyton said.

"What about Nate and Haley?" Jake asked.

"They're probably talking about their wedding and stuff. You know Haley. She's excited about this whole wedding thing."

"Yeah I know. I talked to Nathan. He's so excited too. I asked him if he thought they were a bit too young, but Nathan said something about how forever should start today," Jake told her.

Peyton nodded. "Well, you can't argue with that. They love each other. I can see a future for them. You know, like five kids, a big house…Nathan getting in the NBA and Haley becoming a worldwide singer. They'd last forever together."

"What about us?" Jake asked, getting serious.

"You and me?" Peyton asked. "A future for us?"

"Yeah. Can you see us together after high school. I know we've never really talked about this seriously, Peyton, but I love you and I want to know if you feel the same way."

"I love you, too, Jake. It's just happening really fast."

"What is?" Jake asked, confused. "You love me, I love you. What's happening so fast?"

"Just, our high school career. It just seems like yesterday Jenny was born, you and Nicki broke up, and you and I started dating. I don't want it to go by so quickly," Peyton answered.

"It won't, Peyton. We've still got two more years of high school and honestly, I can see us dating after high school, no matter where we end up for college. I love you and so does Jenny. One day, I can see us as being a family," Jake smiled.

Peyton smiled back and kissed him tenderly. They were lost in their own world until they heard a voice being cleared behind them. They quickly broke apart to see Brooke, Lucas, Haley, and Nathan standing above them. Brooke was the one who cleared her throat.

"Sorry to interrupt this love fest, but Lucas and I don't really want front row seats to it and I'm sure Nathan and Haley don't either," Brooke teased.

Jake grinned sheepishly while Peyton his her face in his chest in slight embarrassment. "Sorry. We were just waiting for you guys. What took you so long?"

"Well we would've been here sooner," Lucas started. "But after we ate breakfast, my lovely girlfriend over here decided that she needed to quickly touch up her makeup, which ended taking like half an hour."

"What?" Brooke chuckled. "I need to look good."

"Babe, you always look good," Lucas assured her.

"Aw, thanks, Broody," Brooke smiled.

"And you guys think we're the love fest," Peyton laughed, standing up.

"Oh, be quiet P. Sawyer. I think we can both agree that Nathan and Haley are the biggest love fest," Brooke said.

"What do you mean, B. Davis?" Peyton asked, swinging her book bag around her shoulder.

"Look," Brooke said, pointing over at Nathan and Haley who were currently making out heavily.

"I see your point," Peyton said.

Brooke walked up to them and cleared her throat. They didn't pull away.

"Excuse me," Brooke tried again. Still, neither of them heard her.

"Haley, Nate," Brooke said. Nothing.

Brooke sighed and knew she would have to take drastic measures. She looked around to make sure nobody else was on campus besides their friends before she did this. There was nobody. Then, walking slightly closer to Nathan and Haley, she let out an ear-piercing scream.

Nathan and Haley quickly broke apart and looked at her. "What the hell was that for?" Haley asked.

"I, uh, I saw a cockroach," Brooke lied and then looked over to see Jake, Peyton, and Lucas laughing slightly to themselves. She hushed them and they immediately stopped laughing.

"Really?" Haley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Brooke smiled. Haley laughed it off. This year was certainly going to be interesting, especially since she was pregnant and she hadn't even told Nathan yet. She was just waiting for the right time, but unfortunately, she didn't know when that would be.

* * *

"Ugh, Rachel is such a bitch!" Haley said, sitting down at the lunch table. Jake, Peyton, Nathan, Lucas, and Brooke were already there, but Haley was held back for a couple of minutes since she needed to stop at the Tutor Center to see her who her new tutees were.

As soon as Nathan heard Haley refer to Rachel, he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He remembered when Rachel had kissed him during the summer and he never told Haley.

_Flashback:_

_After running for about an hour, Nathan stopped to take a breath. Sitting on a park bench, he caught his breath. As he began to stand up, he felt someone tap his shoulder._

_"Hey sexy," the voice said. He turned around._

_"Rachel?"_

_"That's me," she smirked. She and Nathan hadn't had much of a history together- she was a cheerleader and he was a basketball player, so everyone thought the would date, but they never did. Not once. He tried brushing her off because he was never interested in her, even when he was sleeping around, but she never took a hint._

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I was walking around Tree Hill, saw my favorite man, and thought I'd say hi. I bet you were thinking about me anyway," she smirked._

_"Look, Rachel. You have to understand that I'm not into you, okay? And I never will be," he told her off._

_"Yes, you will be sexy. You're hot and I'm hot. So let's be hot together."_

_"You did not just say that," Nathan said._

_"Well, I did."_

_"Rachel, I need you to understand that I'm-"_

_Rachel cut him off by forcefully kissing him. She pressed her lips hard against his and climbed on top of his lap, straddling him. She grinded her hips against his. She moved her hands up and down his chest as she continued to kiss him hard. And while she was doing this, Nathan sat there in shock. Finally, regaining his senses, he pushed her off of him. He wiped his mouth. He couldn't stand her taste. The only one he loved was Haley's._

_"Why the hell did you just do that?" he asked angrily._

_"You're just trying to deny your feelings for me. So, now that I kissed you, you can't deny them anymore," she said._

_"Open your eyes, Rachel. I don't love you and I never will. Stop being such an attention whore and finally another guy. Besides, I'm taken," he told her._

_"By who?" Rachel asked. Nathan Scott was dating? She never thought this day would come._

_Nathan thought about it. Should he tell her who he was dating? No, he shouldn't. She'd try to threaten Haley and it'd scare her._

_"Someone. And you'll never find out," he told her and then walked off, leaving her speechless._

_End of Flashback_

"What'd she do?" Nathan heard Lucas ask.

"She found out somehow that Nathan and I were engaged and she totally went off on me," Haley exclaimed, picking up a fry from her plate.

"What'd she say?" Nathan asked, instantly getting protective of his fiancée.

"That you were just tricking me into falling in love with me and that you were just faking this engagement just to get into my head as one of your ploys." She took a look at Nathan's incredulous face and quickly added, "don't worry, I don't believe one thing she said."

"Good. You know I would never hurt you like that, right? That I will always love you?" Nathan said.

"Yeah, I know that. I love you, too."

* * *

"Can I talk to you, Lucas?" Brooke said that day after school. She had ran up to Lucas who was sitting on one of the benches in the quad. She had to tell him something important and she didn't know how he would react.

"Yeah, sure, Pretty Girl. What's on your beautiful mind?" Lucas asked, gesturing for her to sit next to him.

"Okay, okay. I'm not sure about this, but I feel like I should tell you because you're my boyfriend and I love you, and I would never want to keep anything from you," Brooke began.

"What is it?" Lucas asked.

"Like I said, I'm not positive, but there's a possibility…" Brooke continued on, trailing off.

"What's going on, Brooke?"

"I think I'm pregnant," she revealed.

Instantly and impulsively, Lucas stood up. "What?!"

"I'm late and I've been feeling sick these last few days. I don't know, I could be wrong, but I felt that you should know because if I am pregnant, then you're obviously the father and I can't do this alone," Brooke said.

"No, no, I can't," Lucas stressed out.

"You can't what?" Brooke asked.

"I can't be a father right now. Brooke, we're sixteen years old! We can't be parents right now. We've just entered our junior year of high school. We have two years until college. A baby will change everything."

Brooke was hurt. "You don't want to have a baby with me?"

"I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. I just said that we're too young to do this right now. You can understand that, right?" Lucas asked his girlfriend.

"I know, Lucas. But if I am pregnant, I can't do this alone. If I'm pregnant, would you be there for me?"

"I don't know, Brooke. I just, can't," Lucas said.

"Lucas, please," Brooke pleaded her boyfriend to stay.

"I'm sorry Brooke. I love you, okay? I love you, but I just need to think. I'll call you when I'm ready to talk about this," Lucas said, grabbing his backpack.

"Lucas! Please don't leave me with this baby!" Brooke screamed.

"You don't even know if you're pregnant," he yelled back. "And if you are, then I need to think about what I'm going to do. Because I'm not ready to have a baby yet. Nobody our age is."

"You're just afraid of commitment," Brooke said. "If I'm pregnant, you're afraid of committing to me and the baby for the rest of your life."

"That's not it, Brooke. I love you. You know that. But I'm scared," he admitted.

"You don't think I'm scared too? I'm scared of our lives and what we will become if I'm pregnant. This isn't all about you, Luke. I'm worried too. I'm so scared that you'll leave me because you don't want this baby," Brooke cried.

"I won't leave you. I just need to think," he said, walking off.

"Lucas!" Brooke called after him, but no response back. She sat on the bench and began to softly cry into her hands.

* * *

**_September 4, 2003_**

"So are you pregnant?" Lucas asked, sitting down with Brooke at Karen's café. It was six o'clock and it was about three hours after school. After Lucas had left yesterday, Brooke got a pregnancy test, got the results, and then proceeded to call Lucas and tell him that she knew if she was or wasn't pregnant.

"Before I tell you, I want to know if you love me and if you will be here for me and the baby if I'm pregnant," Brooke said.

"You know I love you, Brooke. I always will. And…if you're pregnant, I will try my best to be here for you and the baby," Lucas said.

"Promise?" Brooke asked.

"Of course," Lucas promised, kissing Brooke's cheek. "Well?"

"I'm…"

* * *

**Thoughts? Please review!**


	6. Let's Get Away

_"I wanted you to fight for me. I wanted you to say there is nobody else that you could ever be with and that you'd rather be alone than without me. I wanted the Lucas Scott from the beach that night telling the world that he's the one for me. I wanted to be someone worth fighting for."_  
_-Brooke Davis_

**Chapter 6: Let's Get Away**

**_September 4, 2003_**

_Previously:_

_"So are you pregnant?" Lucas asked, sitting down with Brooke at Karen's café. It was six o'clock and it was about three hours after school. After Lucas had left yesterday, Brooke got a pregnancy test, got the results, and then proceeded to call Lucas and tell him that she knew if she was or wasn't pregnant._

_"Before I tell you, I want to know if you love me and if you will be here for me and the baby if I'm pregnant," Brooke said._

_"You know I love you, Brooke. I always will. And…if you're pregnant, I will try my best to be here for you and the baby," Lucas said._

_"Promise?" Brooke asked._

_"Of course," Lucas promised, kissing Brooke's cheek. "Well?"_

_"I'm…"_

"C'mon, Brooke. You can tell me," Lucas assured her.

"I'm…I'm pregnant, Lucas. We're pregnant," Brooke revealed.

Lucas sat there in shock. Sure, Brooke told him that she thought she was pregnant, but he thought it was just a false alarm- that she wasn't really pregnant. They were sixteen. They were just going into their junior year of high school. A baby would change everything. And what would his mom say? She got pregnant in high school, but not at this age. She was eighteen, not sixteen.

"Luke, can you say something? Anything?" Brooke pleaded her boyfriend.

"A-are…are you going to keep the baby?" he stuttered out.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"I mean, after you give birth to this baby…are you going to raise the baby or give the baby up for adoption?" Lucas asked.

"I…want to keep the baby," Brooke answered.

"We're sixteen," Lucas reminded her.

"You said you'd be here for me if I was pregnant," Brooke mumbled.

Lucas sighed. "I know I did."

"I can't do this alone, Luke," Brooke continued on.

"I know you can't."

"Please Lucas. I love you. I want us to raise this baby together. I want us to stay together," Brooke begged him.

"I love you too. I'm just scared," he admitted.

"We already talked about this. I'm scared too Lucas. More than ever. But I think we can handle this," she said. She put her hand over his. "Do you love me?"

"Yes, of course," he said.

"Then I think we can get through this," she said. "I'm scared, but I love you. We will get through this. I promise," she assured him.

"Okay," he responded. "We need to tell our parents," he reminded her. "And our friends."

"We'll do that later. Right now, I just want to be with you and our baby. Together."

* * *

**_September 6, 2003_**

"Can we talk to you and Keith, mom?" Lucas asked Karen and Keith. It was a Saturday morning and Brooke and Lucas were planning on telling his mom, her parents, and their friends all in one day. They were scared of the consequences after they told everyone, but they knew that if their friends and family loved them, they would support them through this and help them with they baby.

Karen looked up from her book and Keith stopped fixing one of the cars. They were in Keith's shop when Lucas and Brooke walked in.

"Yeah, sure, Luke," Karen said to her son, closing her book and putting it on the floor. Keith put down his wrench and took a seat next to Karen, putting one arm around her. Lucas smiled at the sight of his mom and Keith. He was glad they finally got together after sixteen years of his life had gone by.

"I don't know, I mean, we don't know how to tell you guys this," Lucas began, sitting across from them. Brooke sat down as well next to him and gave him a nervous glance.

"What do you mean?" Karen asked, a worried look on her face.

"Ms. Roe-" Brooke began.

"Please, Brooke. You're my son's girlfriend. Call me Karen," Karen corrected her.

"Karen…I love your son very much," Brooke started again. "And you have to know that I would never try and trap him into anything. But a couple of days ago, we…I found out something."

"What's going on?" Karen asked.

"I'm…I'm pregnant…and Lucas is the father," Brooke revealed.

One thing happened after Brooke said that. Karen fainted.

"Mom!" Lucas yelled, rushing over to her. Brooke had her hands covering her mouth in shock.

Keith quickly got up and grabbed one of the sponges from the rack of tools. He ran the sponge under cold water and then started dabbing it on Karen's forehead. After a couple of minutes, Karen's brown eyes finally opened.

"Mom, you're okay. Thank goodness," Lucas breathed out. Brooke still sat there in complete shock.

"Karen, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" Brooke asked worriedly.

Karen sat back up on her chair and put her hand on her forehead. "Yes, I think so."

"Mom, are you sure?" Lucas asked.

"Yes, I'm just shocked. I didn't know you two were so serious," Karen said, looking at her son.

"We didn't plan this, mom. I just want to let you know that. We would never plan a baby at such an early age," Lucas told her.

"I know, Luke. I know. You just caught me off guard for a second," Karen said.

"Are you mad?" Lucas asked.

"Mad? No, I'm not mad. I wish you would have waited a couple years, but I can't be mad. Then I would be a hypocrite since I got pregnant around your age as well. And look where that's gotten me. I have you," Karen said, referring to Lucas.

"So you'll help us?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"Yes," Keith piped in. "Of course we will."

"Thank you mom and Keith," Lucas smiled. "It means a lot."

"So who else do you guys have to tell?" Keith laughed.

Lucas laughed back. "Brooke's parents and our friends."

"Well, you don't want to keep them waiting. Trust me, they'll be fine with it."

"Who? Brooke's parents or our friends?" Lucas asked.

"Your friends. Now, I don't know about Brooke's parents since I've never really met them, but if they love Brooke, they'll be supportive of this," Keith told them.

Brooke nodded as Lucas kissed her cheek.

* * *

**_September 8, 2003_**

"Can you call them?" Brooke whined.

Lucas laughed. "They're your parents, Cheery. I think you should do the honor," he joked.

Brooke hit his arm. "This isn't the time for fooling around! They're going to be mad."

"It's like Keith said, Brooke. If they really love you, they'll accept this."

"But that's the thing. They don't really love me. They wanted a boy, Broody. My dad, especially. He didn't want a little girl. He wanted a boy so that they could play golf together when the boy got older. I'm not what they wanted. That's why they're always away. Because they never wanted me," Brooke said.

"Don't be like that, Brooke. They love you. I promise," Lucas said.

Brooke sighed. "But still, can you call them?"

Lucas laughed again.

"Broody! Please?" she whined.

He sighed. "Okay, fine. You're lucky you're cute," he teased.

She chuckled and handed him her cell phone. Shaking, he dialed her parents' number.

After three rings, someone picked up.

"_Hello?_" the voice asked.

"Mrs. Davis, it's Lucas Scott," he greeted her.

"_Lucas? Lucas Scott...Lucas Scott...where do I know I Lucas Scott?_" Victoria Davis tried to remember.

"I'm your daughter's boyfriend, ma'am," he cleared his throat.

"_Really? I thought she was dating some Jake guy,_" Victoria said. "_Jake Jagielski or something?_"

Lucas laughed slightly. "No, Peyton is dating Jake."

"_Ah, Peyton Sawyer, yes. And then there was that other girl...tutor girl...really smart...Haley James, that's it!_" Victoria smiled.

"Yes, ma'am, Haley is dating my brother," Lucas told her.

"_You have a brother?_" Victoria asked, confused.

"Yes, ma'am. Well, half-brother."

"_So why are you calling, Lucas?_" Victoria asked.

"Um, is your husband around?" he asked.

"_He's outside cleaning his golf clubs,_" Victoria answered, rolling her eyes at her husband's antics.

"Can you please get him? I need to talk to the both of you," he said.

Victoria shrugged her shoulders. "_Sure. Hold on a second._"

Lucas heard Victoria put the phone down and walk away for a second, calling out for her husband.

"What'd she say?" Brooke asked.

"She needs to go find your dad so I can tell them at the same time," Lucas told her.

"Damn it," Brooke muttered.

"What?" he asked.

"My dad's not going to take it well," Brooke sighed.

"He'll be fine, I promise. I'll talk to him if he doesn't give in, okay?" Lucas promised.

Brooke nodded.

"_Lucas?" _Victoria said.

Lucas quickly took the phone off speaker and put it to his ear.

"Yes Mrs. Davis, it's me," he greeted her again.

"My husband is here," she said.

_"Hello, Lucas? I'm Robert Davis-"_

"It's Ted. Nobody calls him Robert," Victoria corrected.

"_Um, yes_," Ted replied, sounding a little annoyed. "_Anyways, I'm Brooke's father."_

"Mr. Davis, I'm Lucas Scott, Brooke's boyfriend. Um, I want to tell you and Mrs. Davis some news that Brooke and I found out the other day."

_"What?"_ Ted asked.

"Well, you see, um, I-" Lucas stuttered.

_"Go on, son. I don't have all day. I have a meeting in the afternoon and then I need to go play golf with some clients. Hurry up or I'm cutting you off,"_ Ted demanded.

Lucas gulped. Brooke's parents weren't the friendliest.

"Brooke's pregnant."

_"Okay…"_ Ted said.

"What do you mean 'okay'? Your daughter is pregnant. You're going to have a grandchild," Lucas told him.

Ted chuckled. _"I don't really see why you had to bother me and my wife with this information."_

"Don't you understand? Brooke is pregnant. You're her father. You need to know about these things," Lucas stressed out.

_"Son, I haven't seen my daughter in a long time. She never wanted to come to California with us. I respected her decision to stay in Tree Hill and I send her money every week. The deal was that she wouldn't bombard us with useless information about her everyday life,"_ Ted said.

Lucas clenched his fists. "I don't think you understand, Mr. Davis. How could you think so little of your daughter? You're still her father. You still have to love Brooke even though you're across the country. This is not useless information. You are going to have a grandchild."

Ted chuckled. _"Okay. I hope you two are happy. Doesn't affect me one way or another."_

"Will all due to respect, you're a terrible father. I hope one day when Brooke turns away from you, you'll regret ever neglecting her. And tell your wife to speak up. She hasn't said a word during this entire thing," Lucas said.

_"Lucas, do not speak to me in that manner,"_ Ted demanded.

"Yeah? Why don't you listen to your own advice first," Lucas yelled into the phone and then hung up. He looked over to Brooke who was staring at him intently.

"No offence, but your dad is a jackass," Lucas commented, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Brooke shrugged. "What'd he say?"

"He doesn't care that you're pregnant. Says it doesn't affect his life at all," Lucas recalled.

Brooke nodded. "That's my dad for you."

"And you're not hurt by this?" Lucas asked, confused.

She shook her head. "This has been going on since I was a kid. They'd neglect me and leave me alone when I needed them the most. I guess I'm just used to the pain."

"You're not supposed to be used to that, Brooke."

"I am, but that doesn't matter, because I have our friends…and I have you," Brooke smiled.

Lucas smiled slightly. "I admire your strength through all of this."

"Where do you think I got it? You're one of the strongest people I know."

"What do you mean? Me?" Lucas asked, confused.

"Yeah. Going through the fact that your father abandoned you and your mother. Most kids would break down. But you're playing basketball, taking care of your mom, and about to raise a child at age sixteen. That's pretty damn strong to me," Brooke chuckled.

Lucas kissed her forehead. "I love you, you know that?"

"I love you too, Lucas Scott."

* * *

"OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE PREGNANT!?" Peyton screamed.

"Um, yeah," Brooke said with Lucas's arm around her shoulders.

Brooke and Lucas had came over to Haley's house to announce the pregnancy. Nathan, Peyton, and Jake met them there and they were now all sitting in the living room. Peyton was the first one to react to the pregnancy.

"That's great!" Peyton smiled.

Jake looked at her. "It is?"

"Yeah, it is. They love each other. It's the same thing I told Nathan and Haley when they got engaged. Who cares about age. If you love someone, go on, don't waste time, and start a life with them because life is too short to waste time."

Jake shrugged. "I guess."

"So you're really happy for me, P. Sawyer?" Brooke asked hopefully, leaning onto Lucas's chest.

"Definitely. Oh, I hope it's a boy!"

Brooke laughed. "What do you guys think?" Brooke asked Nathan and Haley.

"I'm happy for you, Brooke," Nathan said. "Congratulations," he congratulated her and Lucas.

Meanwhile, Haley was in her own little world. Hearing that Brooke was pregnant just made her remember that she had to tell Nathan about her pregnancy. She was about a month pregnant and she wasn't showing at all, but she still had to tell him soon. She just had to wait for the right time because she was scared as to how he would react. She knew she loved him, but she was just scared. They were only sixteen years old. They had a whole life ahead of them. This would just change everything.

"Haley?" Brooke asked.

Haley was still thinking.

"Haley? Haley James-soon-to-be-Scott! Hales? Haley Bob..." Brooke tried to get her attention. What was up with Haley right now?

Peyton sighed. "HALEY JAMES, BROOKE IS TALKING TO YOU!"

That made Haley snap out of her trance.

"Huh? What?"

"Hales, you were in some kind of...trance. What's up with you?" Brooke asked.

"N-nothing. I was just thinking," she stuttered.

"About what?" Jake asked.

"Nothing," she lied.

"You sure, babe?" Nathan piped in.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him.

"So what do you think about this, Hales?" Lucas asked.

"About what?"

"My pregnancy," Brooke said.

"It's...I mean...I'm happy for you, Tigger. You too, Luke. You guys deserve to be happy."

* * *

**_September 9, 2003_**

"We need to leave Tree Hill, Peyton. We need to get out of here. All of us," Jake said, referring to him, Peyton, Nathan, Brooke, and Lucas. It was twelve o'clock, which was their lunch period, and they decided to go to Karen's Cafe for lunch since it wasn't that far from their school. Besides, their lunch period was almost an hour and a half.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Look, um, Nicki wants custody of Jenny," Jake simply told her.

Peyton widened her eyes. "Nicki's back?"

"Yeah, she came by last night saying that she would do whatever it would take to get her daughter back. I told her that there was no way, but she said she wasn't giving up and that we should watch our backs. She's going to get Jenny, Peyton. I need to protect my daughter," Jake explained.

"I know, I know, I understand that. Are you sure you want to leave Tree Hill?"

"I meant just for a couple of days before I sort things out with this lawyer. I can't risk Jenny or any of us, so we need to hide from Nicki. Look, we have a week off of school because of some teacher's convention week. So we can hide from Nicki somewhere out of North Carolina until school is back on. That would give me enough time to sort things out," Jake said.

Peyton nodded. "You guys up for it?"

Nathan and Haley both nodded. "Whatever you need to protect your daughter."

Brooke and Lucas agreed with them. "Now that I'm going to be a mom, I'm thinking more about this kind of stuff. You're brave, Jake, for taking care of your daughter alone. But we'll go with you, of course we will. You shouldn't have to do this alone."

"Thank you, guys. It means a lot. We leave tomorrow, so you guys better pack and tell your parents. It's a good thing there's no school for the next week because now we don't have homework. I'll tell you guys where we're going in the car. It's a surprise."

"We only have a day to pack? That doesn't give me much time to get all my clothes and makeup sorted! Right after school, you and I are packing, Lucas! And you're helping me carry ALL my suitcases," Brooke said.

"Ugh," Lucas groaned.

"I'm pregnant, Luke. I can't carry heavy stuff," Brooke pouted.

Lucas just shook his head. "You're lucky I love you."

"I know."

* * *

**_September 10, 2003_**

"Road trip, here we come!" Haley yelled, carrying her suitcase to the car.

"Brooke, we're going for less than a week. I don't understand why you need all this stuff," Lucas groaned, carrying two of Brooke's suitcases. There were still three left in the house.

Brooke just gave him a glare.

"And that's my cue to shut up," Lucas fell silent.

Haley and Brooke laughed.

"Where are Peyton and Jake?" Nathan asked, coming out of the Brooke's house as well carrying his luggage, which he and Haley dropped off the night before.

"They're getting Jenny ready. It's hard to take care of a baby, you know?" Haley said.

Nathan shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I wouldn't know yet."

Haley sighed, thinking about her baby, and nodded.

Nathan grabbed her bag from her hand and put it into the trunk.

Lucas and Nathan went back inside to grab Brooke's three other bags while Brooke and Haley sat on the porch steps.

Brooke looked around and then whispered to Haley. "Now that the boys are gone, you can tell me what's on your mind."

Haley looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Brooke laughed. "C'mon Haley, I'm not stupid. On Monday, when Luke and I told you about the baby, you were totally zoning out. That's not like you. What's up?"

Haley shrugged. "Nothing, Tigger."

"C'mon, Haley, I know something's going on," Brooke persisted.

"I, uh, I guess I'm just worried about the wedding," she lied. "I want it to be perfect. I mean, what if Nathan decides we're too young and then leaves the alter? I don't know what I'd do if he left me. I can't live without him."

"Tutor Girl, I've seen the way Nathan looks at you. He's ready for forever. He has been the moment he told you he loves you. I can see it in his eyes. He won't leave you. I promise," Brooke assured her.

"Thanks, Brooke."

"Thanks for what?" Nathan asked as he and Lucas came out of the house holding the rest of the luggage.

Haley and Brooke exchanged glances. "Um, I just thanked her for, um, lending me her makeup."

"But her makeup is in the suitcase I'm holding," Lucas pointed out, confused.

"Well, I, uh…I mean, she says she's going to give it to me when we get there," Haley explained.

Nathan shrugged. "Okay. But Hales, just so you know, you don't need any makeup. You're already too beautiful."

Haley blushed while Brooke shot her an 'I told you so' grin.

"Okay, Nate, that was cheesy, corny, and a little cliché," Lucas laughed. "You are so whipped."

Nathan looked at Lucas. "Look who's talking. You'd do anything for Brooke."

"W-well, you do whatever Haley wants," Lucas shot back.

"Dude, you're like at Brooke's feet. No denying that," Nathan laughed.

"You and Hales are getting married and I'm the one who's whipped?" Lucas asked.

"You're having a baby with Brooke," Nathan shot back.

"You listen to me, Nate-"

"No, you listen to me, Luke-"

"Nathan! Lucas!" Brooke barked. They both jerked their heads towards her.

"What?"

"Shut up," Brooke demanded, annoyed.

"Okay, fine," Lucas agreed.

Nathan snickered. "Whipped."

"Nathan, leave it alone. Now. Understand?" Haley said, her hands on her hips.

Nathan nodded. "Yes, babe."

Haley and Brooke looked at each other and laughed. "You two are both SO whipped."

"We are not!"

"Yes you are-"

"We're here!" Peyton yelled, running up to them, clearly out of breath. Jake was trailing behind her, trying to keep up while wheeling two suitcases. Peyton was holding Jenny.

"You're late, P. Sawyer," Brooke joked.

"I'm sorry, B. Davis. We had to get Jenny ready and do some last minute packing, and then the car broke down so we had to walk here-"

"It's fine, Peyton. Let's just go. We've got a Nicki to run away from."

"You've got that right," Peyton laughed, buckling Jenny into her car seat while Jake put the luggage in the trunk. Jake then got into the driver's seat and Peyton sat in the passenger seat. Nathan and Haley sat in the middle row of the car while Brooke and Lucas sat in the back with Jenny.

"By the way, Jake, where are we going?" Haley asked.

"We're going to Northlake, South Carolina. It's about two hours from here, which isn't that bad," Jake answered.

They all nodded.

"Get ready for the time of our lives!" Brooke squealed.

Lucas laughed. "You know this isn't a vacation, right Cheery? We're trying to hide from Nicki."

"Doesn't mean we can't have fun. Broody, don't be so…broody," she teased.

He shook his and laughed again. "Love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"This hotel is beautiful, Peyton. How on Earth were you and Jake able to pay for this?" Haley asked, lugging her suitcase through the door. Brooke followed her carrying her purse. Nathan, Lucas, and Jake were all pitching in to carrying their suitcases and Brooke's five suitcases. Peyton brought in hers, which she shared with Jenny since Jenny didn't have many things.

"We told Jake's parents about Nicki. They happily agreed to let us stay here for a while. They're going to sort some stuff out with the lawyers there in Tree Hill. Besides, they said that Jake needs a break," Peyton said.

Brooke laughed. "School just started," she pointed out.

Peyton shrugged. "I don't know. Ask Jake's parents. Actually, thank them first because this place is amazing."

"That's for sure," Brooke said.

Jake, Nathan, and Lucas walked in, panting, holding eight suitcases at once. One was half open and another was still in the hallway, open all the way, with things falling out of it.

"What is going on?" Haley asked.

"Brooke made us carry _all _her suitcases. I still don't understand why we need all this stuff," Nathan said, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"Girl stuff," Brooke vaguely and simply answered.

Nathan took a water from the room's fridge and gulped it all the way down.

"Nate, I thought you were used to this. Doesn't Whitey make you run your ass of during practice?" Haley asked, walking out into the hall to grab the open suitcase. It was one of Brooke's. She closed it and brought it in, shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah, but practice hasn't started yet. It's just tryouts to see if any new kids or freshman want to be on the team. So they guys and I sit on the bleachers and help Whitey decide who the new guys are going to be. We need to replace the seniors from last year who are now in college," Nathan explained.

"Man, this is nice," Lucas commented on the room, looking around. "How many bedrooms, Peyt?" he asked.

"There are three bedrooms and three bathrooms, which is good. Nathan and Haley share a bedroom and a bathroom, Lucas and Brooke share, and Jake and I share. Jenny will stay in our room," Peyton said.

Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. "There's not crib, is there?"

Peyton shrugged. "We can just rent one or something. This is such a nice hotel- I'm sure they have one."

"Nathan," Brooke whispered to him. "Don't let Peyton get a crib for Jenny. If Jenny's in a crib, Peyton can put the crib in the living room so that she and Jake can have loud sex that will wake all of us up!"

Nathan widened his eyes. "Uh, Peyton, maybe it's best if Jenny just slept next to you and Jake in the bed."

"How come?"

"Um," Nathan trailed off, looking at Brooke for help.

"Well, we don't want Jenny to be alone in the living room," Brooke reasoned.

"We'd put the crib in our room anyways," Peyton said.

Brooke and Nathan looked at each other. "Then never mind," Brooke smiled.

"What were you guys talking about before?" Peyton asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, just nothing," Brooke lied, smiling again.

Peyton looked at them again before dropping the subject. Those two were ridiculous.

* * *

"Man, this is a beautiful view of the lake," Brooke said to Lucas.

"Not as beautiful as you," Lucas complimented her. Brooke blushed at his cheesiness.

After they all unpacked, they went their separate ways. Jake and Peyton took Jenny to the park while Nathan and Haley decided to take a walk around the town. Lucas decided he would take Brooke to the lake. He had been here as a kid a couple times when Keith and his mom took him to Northlake.

_Flashback:_

_Seven-year-old Lucas Scott ran around the lake while Karen and Keith sat on the chairs they had brought with them._

_"He's so energetic," Keith commented._

_"Yeah, I know. One day, when he gets to high school, he'll be amazing at sports. I know it," Karen added._

_Keith nodded. "Basketball. I'll teach him how to play basketball. I mean, that's how I met you."_

_Karen blushed. She and Keith were just friends even though she knew she liked him. She was just scared to get her heart broken after what Dan did seven years ago when he left her and Lucas. She knew Keith wouldn't hurt her like this- he was always here for her and Lucas no matter what- but she couldn't help but keep her guard up protecting her heart. Besides, she was too busy raising Lucas to start a relationship now._

_"Lucas!" Keith called out to his nephew. Lucas ran back over to his mother and Uncle._

_"What's up, Uncle Keith?" he asked, straightening out his Raven's t-shirt that bought him. Lucas ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair._

_"What'd you think about playing basketball?" he asked._

_"You mean like my dad?" Lucas asked._

_Karen lifted her head up and looked at her son. "What? How'd you know about that?"_

_"In school, we sometimes go up to the high school," he said, referring to Tree Hill High School. He was currently in second grade in Tree Hill elementary school. He was best friends with Haley James, but he and Haley were also friends with Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer._

_"So how do you know about your father playing basketball?" Karen asked._

_"We went to the gym. Haley pointed out the jerseys that were on the wall. Number thirty-three was Dan Scott. I know that's my dad," Lucas said. _

_Karen looked away as she felt her eyes water slightly. Keith saw that and quickly tried to distract Lucas._

_"Why don't we go, little man?" he suggested._

_Lucas shook his head. "But I wanna play some more."_

_Keith chuckled. "You've played for two hours, bud. You know what? How about we can drive around a little bit? I'll let you drive," he offered._

_Lucas's blue eyes lit up. "Really, Uncle Keith?"_

_Keith nodded. "Yeah. It's a small town, we'll be fine. It'll just be me, you, and your mom."_

_End of Flashback_

"That was one of the best days of my life," Lucas told Brooke as they walked around the lake.

"It sounds nice, you know, with Keith and your mom," Brooke said.

"Yeah. It was just him, me, and my mom. It was perfect. I felt like a real family, even though Dan had left us seven years prior," Lucas explained.

Brooke nodded and sighed.

"What's on your mind, Pretty Girl?" Lucas asked.

"It's just…" Brooke trailed off. "I just wish I had a real family. You know, with real parents who actually cared about me."

"I'm sorry, Brooke. But don't think about your parents. If they don't care about you, then you shouldn't have to care about them. They've nothing good to you but bring you into this world, which is probably the best thing that's ever happened for me. Don't think about them if they're not going to think about you," he advised his girlfriend.

"Thank you, Luke," she thanked him.

He nodded. "Besides, you and I are going to have our own family soon. How's my kid doing?" he asked, referring to his and Brooke's unborn baby.

"He or she is doing fine," she smiled as they switched the topic to the baby.

"Oh, by the way, we never talked about the gender or names," Lucas reminded her.

"Well, what do you want the baby to be?" she asked him.

"Honestly, I want a son," he told her.

"How come?" she asked.

"My father never wanted me. He never wanted to say that I was his and he never even wanted me to be born. I want a son because I don't want to make the same mistakes that my father made. I want to be a good dad and I want to show Dan that I am nothing like him," Lucas explained.

Brooke nodded. "You're going to be a great father, Lucas. I know it."

"And you're gonna be a great mom. We're going to make it, Brooke. I love you, you know that?"

"I was kind of hoping," she joked.

He kissed her forehead and she leaned into him. He looked at the lake, remembering it as a safe haven when he was a kid. It still was. And one day, he hoped that his and Brooke's kid would run around here just like he once did.

* * *

"I can't believe Jenny is almost two years old," Jake said, watching Jenny play with some other kids on the playground. He and Peyton were sitting on a bench nearby talking and watching her carefully.

"I know," Peyton simply replied.

"It just seems like yesterday, she was born, and…" Jake trailed off, realizing what he was about to say.

"Nicki gave her up," Peyton finished for him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Hey, hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know it probably still hurts that Nicki gave Jenny up. You don't need to hide from me. I understand," Peyton assured him.

"I'm over Nicki," he said. "I'm just not over the fact that my daughter could be hurt because of Nicki. This isn't a game. Nicki can't just decide when or when she doesn't want to be a mother to our daughter. She's not our daughter anymore. She's just mine," Jake said.

"Whatever you need, I'm here, Jake. You have to know that I'll always be here," Peyton promised him.

"Thank you," he thanked her.

"For what?"

"For being that mother figure in Jenny's life. You're a great mom, even though you're not Jenny's biological one. But it doesn't matter. Jenny doesn't need her mother. She needs her mom," Jake said. He kissed Peyton's forehead.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too, Peyton Sawyer."

* * *

_**September 11, 2003**_

"Nathan, where are we going? It's about to rain," Haley said.

"It's fine. Nobody is going to notice we're gone," Nathan said.

"Babe, it's almost eleven o'clock. I'm tired. What are we doing?" Haley asked. She had been getting ready to go to bed when Nathan told her to change back into her clothes. When she questioned why, he just told her that they had to do something now. Seeing that she wasn't going to get out of this, she agreed.

"I have a surprise for you," he told her.

Haley furrowed her eyebrows. "When did you have time to make this surprise?"

"Remember when we were watching a movie?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Well, you fell asleep, so I quickly snuck out and got Lucas and Jake to help me with this. It took forever, but thank goodness you're a heavy sleeper. You slept literally for three hours," he teased her.

She hit his arm playfully. "So what is it?"

He led her over to the Northlake beach. "Close your eyes," he instructed her.

She hesitated at first, but then shut her eyes. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Just a minute." He led her over to the center of the beach.

"Can I open my eyes now?" she asked impatiently.

"Okay, open them," he said.

Haley opened her eyes and gasped at the beautiful sight.

_N + H_

Those two letters were spelled out with thousands of rose petals. Some were red and some were white. None were pink, though, since Nathan knew Haley hated pink with all her heart.

Haley felt herself tear up a little.

"Babe, don't cry," Nathan said, wrapping his arms around her.

She sniffed. "I'm crying out of happiness. This is beautiful, Nathan."

"I just, I was thinking about you the other day and how much of an impact you made on my life. You've changed me into the guy I am now. You've saved me from falling and crashing. You're perfect and I know that I will never be as great as you. But I hope to one day be at least half as great as you," Nathan told her.

Haley looked at him. "Hey, c'mon, you and I both know that you are great. I know that in your past, you made some stupid mistakes like sleeping with random girls and getting drunk, but that's over now. You have basketball. You're great at that. Don't doubt that, Nate."

Nathan chuckled.

"What?" Haley asked, confused.

"I was just, I was just thinking about what it would be like if I was never failing school. You would've never tutored me, we would've never fallen in love, and we would've never gotten engaged," he laughed.

"Why is that funny?" she asked.

"I don't know. I'm just thinking about how great it is that life has that funny way of making every thing turn out the way it's supposed to be. You and I are endgame. We're meant to be together. Life knew that all along and fate brought us together," he explained.

"There are always couples that are meant to be. Like Brooke and Lucas. They're meant to be and now they're having a baby. That's life's little way of showing that they're supposed to be together forever," Haley added.

"I'm just glad I found you now. Otherwise I'd be a downwards spiral in college with no dreams or ambitions. I would've fallen and there would've been no one there to catch me," Nathan said.

"I bet you'd be strong enough to catch yourself," Haley encouraged him.

"Even if I was able to catch myself. There would be no one to help me through the hard times. I'd be all alone. And even when I had good times, I would've never had anyone standing next to me through it all," Nathan told her.

"Well, then I'm glad I found you. Because I love you and there's no way I could live without you," Haley smiled.

Nathan smiled back and kissed her forehead. "I love you so much, Haley James."

"Scott," she mumbled.

"Huh?" he asked. She then kissed him.

"Call me Haley James...Haley James Scott," she mumbled against his lips. "I will be soon, and from then, I always will be."

"Always and forever," he promised, kissing her back. They were soon interrupted by the sound of thunder. Haley broke the kiss and looked up. Rain started to fall down on the both of them.

"Crap," she muttered. "Nathan, we gotta go."

He smirked. "Why?"

"If you hadn't realized, it's starting to pour."

"I like it, Hales. C'mon," he assured her, kissing her again.

Lost in the kiss, she kissed him again, forgetting about the rain.

After five minutes, she pulled away. "We're gonna get pneumonia."

He laughed. "C'mon Hales."

"Please, Nathan. I'm getting cold. I promise I'll kiss you when we get back to the hotel."

He smirked again. "Okay, fine."

Quickly running, the two raced back to the hotel with Haley trying to cover herself, as she was only wearing a pair of pajama shorts and Nathan's hoddie.

As they reached the lobby, they heard someone clear their throat behind them. They turned around to see Jake, Peyton, Lucas, and Brooke wearing their pajamas.

"Uh, what are you guys doing here?" Haley asked, blushing.

Brooke crossed her arms over her chest. "The real question is why are you guys outside past eleven o'clock? And why are you guys soaked? Were you two doing it outside?"

Lucas put his hands over his ears. "Brooke, that's my best friend you're talking about."

"It started raining," Haley answered Brooke's question.

"But why were you two outside alone at night?" Brooke repeated.

"Nathan, he got me a surprise," Haley responded.

Brooke squealed and clapped her hands. "Oh, I love surprises. What'd he do?"

Haley took out her phone and showed Brooke the picture of the rose petals. "He did this."

Brooke smiled widely. "Aw, that's so romantic Nate! You're so lucky, Hales."

"Hey," Lucas joked. "Boyfriend standing right here."

"Sorry, Broody, but you have to admit that the surprise was pretty romantic."

"I helped him with it," Lucas protested.

"So did I," Jake added, putting his arm around Peyton's waist.

"It was my idea, though," Nathan joked smugly.

Jake and Lucas rolled their eyes but in a playful manner.

"You boys," Peyton said. "Always a competition."

The girls laughed while the boys chuckled as well. This trip was amazing for all of them.

* * *

_**September 14, 2003**_

"Guys, good news," Jake said, coming out of his and Peyton's bedroom.

"What?" Haley and Brooke asked, coming out of the bathroom. It was seven o'clock in the morning and they had been in Northlake for about five days. Nathan and Lucas were in the living room watching a basketball game while Peyton was trying to order breakfast from room service as she was holding Jenny on her hip. Jake had been on the phone for half an hour while Brooke and Haley were still getting ready in the bathroom.

"I was just talking with my parents on the phone. They got it all sorted out. Apparently, since Nicki wasn't here for the first two, well almost two, years of Jenny's life and never paid a single penny for Jenny, she can't be granted any custody of my her," Jake said happily.

"But shouldn't there be some sort of court?" Haley asked. "I mean, not that I'm not happy Nicki doesn't get custody, but that's what usually happens."

"There was going to be one, but the police found out that Nicki was using illegal drugs. I don't know how, but now they're questioning her and stuff. I don't know what's going to happen to Nicki since she's a minor, but the police said there's no way Nicki is allowed to take care of Jenny now. That be harmful to the child," Jake explained.

"That's great, man. We can finally stop hiding," Lucas said, turning off the TV.

"Which reminds me. School is back on in a couple of days, so I figured we can either stay here for a day more or two, or we could go back to Tree Hill and hang out there," Jake said.

"I like it here," Brooke says. "Despite all this stuff that's happened to us, we're still kids. We need a break."

"We're kids who grew up way too fast," Peyton commented, finally done with ordering their breakfast.

They all looked at her.

"Getting a little broody like Lucas, Peyt," Brooke joked.

Peyton grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Nathan shrugged. "Peyton's half right, though. I mean, a lot of kids our age don't go through things like this."

"I know what you mean. I mean Jake has a daughter and has to run away from the biological mother, Brooke's pregnant at age sixteen, Haley was hit by a car and almost died, Nathan and Haley are engaged in high school...we've gone through a lot, haven't we?" Lucas said.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter because we're all fine," Brooke told him.

"And we'll be strong through all of this," Jake added. Peyton nodded and Jake kissed her cheek. Nathan wrapped his arms around Haley while Lucas put his arm around Brooke's waist.

"We'll all be friends forever. I just know it," Brooke smiled.

"I know Brooke. And it's great feeling to know that we will always have each other," Lucas said.

"It is, isn't it?" Nathan commented.

"It's amazing. Just like all of us."


End file.
